With less than a week to go until the 2025 NBA Draft, trade ideas and rumors are continuing to float around, especially those that involve coveted picks in this year's draft, which is seen as one of the deepest and most talented in a long time. A new three-team trade idea by ESPN involves one of Duke's three outstanding rookies in this year's class, landing Khaman Maluach with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Trade details:
Brooklyn Nets receive:
No. 11 pick (via Portland Trail Blazers)
2031 unprotected first round pick (via Los Angeles Lakers)
Los Angeles Lakers receive:
No. 8 pick and No. 36 pick (via Brooklyn Nets)
Portland Trail Blazers receive:
Dalton Knecht
2027 top-four protected first round pick (via New York Knicks)
ESPN noted that this trade would depend on Maluach still being available at the eighth overall pick, where Los Angeles then swoops in to grab its center of the future. The Lakers attempted to trade for former Duke center and current Charlotte Hornet Mark Williams ahead of this past season's trade deadline, but after a failed physical by Williams, the trade fell through.
If this trade went down and Maluach landed in LA, it would be an absolutely perfect fit for the South Sudanese center. The 7'2, 250-pound big man would be able to fit right into the rotation and possibly start right away as the Lakers are desperate for a rim-protecting five man who is also a pick-and-roll lob threat.
Maluach having the ability to play in the pick-and-roll game alongside superstar Luka Dončić, would allow the Lakers to utilize Maluach at his fullest potential. The athletic big was a constant lob threat all season with the Blue Devils as a rookie, and there aren't many centers in today's NBA with the athleticism and footwork that Maluach possesses.
In terms of pure ceiling, Maluach might be as high as anyone in this draft. A 7'2 center who can run the floor in transition, switch one through five defensively, protect the rim at an elite level, and work the pick-and-roll effectively would be a gift for the Lakers to land, given how the roster in LA is currently constructed.
And if Maluach was able to work in an offense alongside Dončić, he could be one of the best bigs in this class right away.