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How important is adding more wing talent to the roster for the Los Angeles Lakers?
Well, it could be the difference between entering championship contention or wasting another year of Luka Doncic’s prime. According to Forbes’ Evan Sidery, the Lakers are ‘zeroing in’ on a 27-year-old New Orleans Pelicans defensive star, and could use Dalton Knecht to help them eventually close the deal.
“The Lakers are zeroing in on Herb Jones as a trade target this summer,” Sidery wrote on X/Twitter Friday.
“After making a push for Jones around the trade deadline, Los Angeles will once again inquire with the Pelicans. A package centered around Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and draft capital is a salary match.”
Jones is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, which isn’t a monumental surprise considering the Alabama product entered the league with high expectations on that end of the floor and has alluring physical tools that make for a menacing defender.
Jones received All-Defensive First Team honors in 2024-25 and continued his pest-like defensive play this past season. The former second-round pick finished the 2025-26 campaign with 1.6 steals and a 113.7 defensive rating in 56 contests with the Pelicans.
Jones isn’t too shabby on the offensive end, either, as he’s a serviceable slasher and cutter who’s still working toward becoming a respectable three-point shooter (he averaged 8.9 points per game while shooting 38.3% from the field and 30.9% from beyond the arc).
If the Lakers are unable to offload Knecht in a blockbuster trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer, they should attempt to swap him for Jones and immediately bolster their wing depth.
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