The Los Angeles Lakers have been up and down in recent weeks, currently sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference with a record of 25-16. While Los Angeles has plenty of high end talent, many have pointed to the Lakers’ lack of two-way wings as reason not to take them seriously as contenders, with some claiming that LeBron James’ expensive contract has prevented them from building a sensible roster around Luka Doncic.

On Monday night, Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler went down with a torn ACL, ending his season and causing fans to wonder where the Warriors will pivot now. Recently, Chandler Parsons took to FanDuel’s “Run It Back” show to float a massive trade idea that would shake the NBA to its core.
Lakers news: LeBron James trade idea to Warriors emerges amid Jimmy Butler injury

“How do we feel about a Jimmy Butler, Kuminga, and two picks that are going to be really good to the Lakers for LeBron James and a Rui situation?” wondered Parsons, per Run It Back on FanDuel TV on YouTube.

In this deal, the Lakers would be getting a viable wing in Kuminga and two potentially valuable draft picks that would help them build for the future, while sending out James and Rui Hachimura to the Bay Area. Jimmy Butler’s large salary would help the two sides match from a financial perspective.

While Kuminga has proven himself to be a capable NBA player, it’s hard to see how this deal would make the Lakers better in the short term, considering that James is still performing at an All-Star level when healthy.

However, the two future draft picks might be too much for Rob Pelinka and company to pass up.

Still, for the time being, it appears that the more likely scenario is that the Lakers explore moves more along the margins leading up to the trade deadline.

Of course, that’s also what fans were speculating around this time last year when news of the Doncic trade dropped, so anything is possible.