Early in the season, the Los Angeles Lakers have shown promise as JJ Redick’s club has shot out to a 3-0 record and LeBron James appears to have discovered the elixir of life.

In the ‘Bubble’ during the 2020 NBA Finals in Orlando, Florida, Anthony Davis showed glimpses of being the championship player the NBA world witnessed, while the Lakers surrounded the oldest James with a number of shooters.

According to a trade suggestion made by Colin Keane of Sporting News, the Lakers appear to be fairly happy with their present lineup, but it might not necessarily mean that a move before the deadline later this season is out of the question.

Keane proposed that if Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, a former bench player from Michigan’s Fab Five team whose steady hand has led the Lakers back to their winning ways, offers the Pacers the right combination of players, they could send former number six overall pick Bennedict Mathurin to the Lakers.

In light of center James Wiseman’s recent non-contact Achilles injury, Keane speculated that the Lakers could be able to entice Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan with a group of players that would increase Indiana’s frontline depth.

Keane said that the Lakers might increase the stakes by “sweetening the deal” with draft capital. “Some combination of Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood, and Jarred Vanderbilt would suffice,” he added.

Mathurin is currently in the last year of his $30 million rookie contract. “Should Lakers GM Rob Pelinka have an offer ready?” Recently, Keane posed the question in his trade recommendation column.

This past spring, Mathurin sustained a torn labrum (shoulder) injury during a season in which he shot nearly 62 percent from the floor, averaged 19.5 points per game, and pulled down four rebounds per game.

The oldest James will have more drive-and-kick options than he knows what to do with if the Lakers can somehow get Mathurin to Tinseltown, and Davis may be able to enjoy himself in the paint like he used to.

Before their five-game road trip, the Lakers make a number of personnel changes.

The Los Angeles Lakers will go on a five-game road trip after starting the 2024–25 season with three straight home games. With stops in Cleveland, Toronto, and Detroit, the journey starts on Monday against the Suns in Phoenix and ends on November 6 against the Grizzlies in Memphis. However, the Lakers made a number of roster changes in front of the forthcoming road trip, giving the South Bay Lakers the end of the bench players.

These tasks are just practice exercises to keep the players productive during the trip, as the 2024–25 G League regular season doesn’t kick off until November 8.

On Sunday, four players—Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis, Quincy Olivari, and Armel Traoré—were assigned to South Bay. Hood-Schifino missed the Lakers’ games against the Suns on Friday and the Sacramento Kings on Saturday due to illness.

After being selected with the 40th overall choice in the 2023 NBA Draft, Lewis is in his second season with the Lakers. He saw a lot of action with the South Bay Lakers the previous season. Due to their two-way contracts, Olivari and Traoré will experience frequent G League assignments. Olivari’s brilliant play during the preseason garnered media attention.

Christian Koloko, the Lakers’ third two-way contract player, has not yet received approval from the NBA’s Fitness-To-Play Panel. The Toronto Raptors selected Koloko with the 33rd overall choice in the 2022 NBA Draft, however he was forced to miss just one season after it was revealed that he had blood clot problems.

Bronny James is not assigned to the Lakers in the G League.

One name was conspicuously missing from the Lakers’ roster announcements about South Bay: Bronny James. James was expected to acquire a lot of G League experience when the Lakers selected him with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

However, the Lakers’ G League plans for Bronny James were made public this week. Bronny will accompany the Lakers on their next five-game road trip before joining South Bay on November 8, the start of the 2024–25 G League regular season. Nov. 9 is the first game for South Bay.

Bronny and his father, LeBron James, became the only father and son team to play together in the NBA when they participated in the Lakers’ victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on opening night. In three minutes, Bronny ended with one rebound. He has missed the last two Lakers games.

This past offseason, the former USC guard agreed to a four-year rookie contract with the Lakers. After having a near-fatal heart collapse the summer before his freshman year at USC, he has made a spectacular comeback to the court. Before entering the NBA Draft, he spent a season playing for the Trojans.