LAKERS BOMBSHELL: LA Ready to SACRIFICE Gabe Vincent in SHOCKING $48M Trade for Injury-Prone All-Defense Beast!

The Los Angeles Lakers are exploring trade options to address their center position, with ESPN’s Bobby Marks proposing a deal that would send Gabe Vincent, Jordan Goodwin, and a second-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for Robert Williams III.

The proposed trade addresses the Lakers’ salary cap constraints while targeting their most pressing need. With only $4 million in cap space to remain below the first apron and $16 million before the second apron threshold, Los Angeles has limited flexibility in free agency.

However, the Lakers possess significant trade assets, including over $70 million in expiring contracts from Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber, and Gabe Vincent, along with future draft picks and former first-round selection Dalton Knecht.

Williams, 28, represents an intriguing fit alongside Luka Dončić due to his rim protection abilities and athleticism that makes him an effective lob threat. During his healthiest season in 2021-22 with Boston, Williams earned second-team NBA All-Defense honors while averaging 10 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game across 61 contests.

The significant concern surrounding Williams is his injury history. He has appeared in more than 50 games only twice in his seven-year NBA career, playing just six games for Portland in 2023-24 and 20 games last season.

Williams is entering the final year of his four-year, $48 million contract with a $13.3 million cap hit for 2025, providing the Lakers flexibility to move on if the experiment doesn’t succeed.

Marks also suggested the Lakers complement this move by signing former Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez to a one-year, $5.7 million contract using their taxpayer midlevel exception