With the magical Dec. 15 date upon us, which Lakers are now trade eligible?
After a frustrating first two months of the season that featured some highs and lows, the Lakers — and the rest of the NBA — have arrived at Dec. 15. While more fans than ever are aware of the league’s ins and outs, for those out of the loop, Dec. 15 marks the date players who signed as free agents during the NBA offseason can be traded.
Unofficially, it marks the start of trade season across the NBA. Rarely do trades take place before Dec. 15 because only a portion of the league is even eligible to be traded before that date.
The Lakers, however, are the exception to that. After basically running their roster back from 2023-24, there weren’t many trade restrictions on the roster. In fact, only a small handful of Lakers even become trade-eligible on Dec. 15.
Let’s take a look at who can be traded and the one player who still cannot be.
In total, there were only four players who had any trade restrictions this season and half of them became eligible to be dealt on Dec. 15.
Both of the Lakers’ rookies, Bronny James and Dalton Knecht, can now be traded. For fairly obvious reasons, though, it’s unlikely either would be traded.
With Dalton, the Lakers appear to have found another gem in the draft. He’s someone who looks set to outperform his contract, which is paramount for a team with little wiggle room when it comes to the salary cap.
As for Bronny, it’s pretty unlikely the team trades him unless it’s in a deal with LeBron. And all of that feels unlikely, too.
One player will not be eligible to be traded until the middle of January in Max Christie.
There’s a very specific set of circumstances that led to his restriction extending to Jan. 15, which HoopsRumors detailed succinctly:
A select group of players who signed free agent contracts this offseason won’t become trade-eligible until January 15. These 16 players all meet a specific set of criteria. Not only did they re-sign with their previous team this offseason, but they got a raise of at least 20%, their salary is worth more than the minimum, and their team was over the cap, using Bird or Early Bird rights to sign them.
By getting a healthy pay raise this offseason, Christie can’t be traded until mid-January. Considering how high head coach JJ Redick and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka were on him heading into the season, it seems unlikely he’ll be dealt either.
At last, there is one player who can’t be dealt this season in LeBron James. As part of the new deal he signed during the offseason, LeBron received a no-trade clause.
He’s one of only two players with a no-trade clause in the league, the other being Bradley Beal of the Suns. After the Warriors’ situation near the trade deadline last season, it feels obvious that he received one this summer.
There has been some LeBron James trade chatter leading up to Dec. 15, but most of it felt created out of thin air by ESPN. Still, nothing feels impossible after Golden State’s inquiry at the beginning of 2024.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
