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Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick congratulates Lakers LeBron James after the team pulls away from the Memphis Grizzlies to win 121-128 at Crypto.com Arena on January 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
The Los Angeles Lakers notched up an impressive 141-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night, but their defensive and shooting issues remain all too prevalent. JJ Redick’s team ranks 25th in defensive rating and 26th in 3P%, sharing space with lottery-bound teams rather than the powerhouses in the West.
As they seek 3&D wings and athletic frontcourt players to fix their issues ahead of the Feb. NBA trade deadline, The Athletic’s Dan Woike has endorsed a Lakers trade idea that would fetch the franchise two young wings for a bargain price.
Lakers would get: Patrick Williams, Ayo Dosunmu
Chicago Bulls would get: Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent
Lakers Could Resurrect Williams
Williams, the former No. 4 overall pick, has struggled to take the leap that many expected after Chicago inked him to a $90M rookie scale extension a few years ago. In his sixth season with the Bulls, the athletic forward is averaging 6.3 points and 2.9 rebounds from 18.5 minutes per game, while starting only one contest.
This is the same player who started all 71 games as a rookie and resembled the second coming of Kawhi Leonard by his third year, when he shot 41% from three and emerged as a stout perimeter defender. For his career, Williams has remained a consistent shooter (39% from three), but his overall production leaves a lot to be desired.
Perhaps a veteran Lakers team could resurrect Williams’ career.
As for Dosunmu, the fifth-year wing is in the middle of a career year, tallying 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists on an impressive 45% shooting from three. Per multiple insiders, the impending free agent plans to test the market this summer, even though he has spoken of his desire to remain in Chicago.
Intriguing Lakers Trade Idea
Woike explained why the proposed Lakers trade is a risk-free move for the Bulls, but could be rather risky for Los Angeles. The Bulls would be acquiring the expiring deals of Hachimura ($18.2M) and Vincent ($11.5M), while the Lakers would be committing to Williams through 2028-29 when his trade value is at an all-time low. However, that could be the price to pay to acquire a rising 3-and-D star such as Dosunmu.
“An issue that comes up in many of my conversations is the Lakers’ future cap space. In a trade like this, that would be the primary issue,” wrote Woike. “Williams looks like a 3-and-D wing, but he doesn’t play like one. He spends more time guarding bigs because of his lack of foot speed, and he shoots too infrequently to stretch defenses on the perimeter. He is also under contract for three more seasons.
“Dosunmu has some of the skills that would really help the Lakers, but as an unrestricted free agent, he’s going to be looking for a raise in the mid-level exception range. And while this proposal would have no draft capital going out, a lot of other potential deals for Dosunmu do.
“The Lakers would have to believe that their style of play would unlock Williams to take on his multi-year deal, and I can’t imagine they do. Also, I won’t believe the Bulls are trading Dosunmu until I see it. Chicago seems to really value him.”
As is well documented, the Lakers plan to be extremely cautious with their cap space for 2026 and 2027, when they have ambitious plans to pursue a big name.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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