If Lakers are to trade for third star, they’d prefer Donovan Mitchell

Not too long from now, the Los Angeles Lakers will tweak a roster that was good and possibly very good, but not good enough to compete for the NBA championship this season.

For the last three months, there has been a great deal of talk that in order to upgrade their roster, the Lakers will try to trade for a third star. Trae Young’s name has come up frequently since the Atlanta Hawks may look to trade him this summer. Los Angeles also tried to land another Hawks star guard, Dejounte Murray, prior to the trade deadline.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic said on Episode 23 of “Buha’s Block” that if the Lakers decide to go with a three-star setup, Donovan Mitchell will be their preferred target over Young (h/t Lakers Daily).

“I’ve heard in recent weeks that Donovan has become, if the Lakers go down the three-star path, and it’s still unclear — I think they’re gonna kick the can down the road and see the possibility and see what the asking price is,” Buha said. “And there are teams that can outbid them if they get into a bidding war. But if they do go down that road and at least explore it, that Donovan Mitchell would be the preferred guy, whereas several months ago, Trae Young was a name you were hearing a lot. Dejounte Murray was a name they looked at leading into the deadline.”

Mitchell would seem to be the ideal third star for L.A. He’s 27 years of age, and he’s an explosive scorer who always seems to raise his game in the playoffs. But it isn’t clear if he will ask the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him.

After the Cavs were eliminated in the playoffs on Wednesday, at least one report indicated that he is content in Cleveland and open to signing a long-term extension with the team.