Building a winning lineup around Doncic? The Lakers only set three seats in the start: US media suggests that the three parties trade to welcome two new players

TA Lakers team reporter Josh Buha mentioned in the latest podcast that he felt that the Lakers' lineup in the new season only had three starting seats: Doncic, James, and Ayton, and the starting seats of Reeves and Hachimura are still uncertain. On the one hand, the Lakers may still trade, and on the other hand, Reeves and Hachimura are not good defenders. If the Lakers want to build a lineup to win the championship, they cannot only have offense but no defense.

The Los Angeles Lakers do want to restart the trade negotiations with the Miami Heat. They want to get the top defensive wing Andrew Wiggins. This move is to improve the defensive ability of the starting lineup, but the Heat's asking price for Wiggins is relatively high. The Lakers are currently unable to meet the Heat's asking price, and the negotiations between the two sides are in a deadlock.

According to ESPN's report, Lakers GM Pelinka mentioned in an interview that Doncic's performance in the European Cup is enough to prove that he is among the best players in the world, and may even be the strongest in the world. After Doncic reaches a contract renewal with the Lakers, the team will strive to create a championship-driven lineup for Doncic.

In other words, chasing Andrew Wiggins is to help Doncic win the championship. They also know that Doncic needs top-level defensive resources around him. What if the pursuit of Wiggins fails?

US media NBA Trade Hub proposed a new trading simulation plan:

Lakers get: Pope, Clark;

Grizzlies get: Wiggins, Kneckett;

Heat get: Hiramura, Vincent.

He did not include the first round pick in this deal, perhaps because he felt that Hachimura could meet the needs of the Heat, but this deal the Lakers could get two top defensive players, with Pope in the backcourt (traded to the Grizzlies this summer) and Brandon Clark in the front.

Pope is one of the Lakers' veterans who won the championship in 2020. He performed particularly well during the Lakers. After leaving the Lakers, he won another championship in the Nuggets. His performance began to decline after leaving Orlando for a high salary. However, at the age of 32, he has no problem with defending alone, and his size of 1.96 meters is not inferior to the second position.

Brenden Clark is a power-type 3-4 position. His ending at the basket is very strong, with a shooting percentage of 62% last season. His weakness is that he does not have the ability to shoot three-pointers, but what the Lakers want is top defensive resources, which is what he is good at. If the Lakers get Pope + Clark, the starting lineup will be Doncic, Pope, James, Clark, and Ayton, and the defense will go up.