Trade 1: Rui Hachimura + 1 SRP for DFS The Lakers need a proper wing defender they can trust in the playoffs. Vando and Cam have been great on defense but they are so limited on offense to the point where you're not sure if they can play major minutes in a postseason setting. This team is at the bottom of the league in three-point attempts and makes and that boils down to the number of non-threats they have on the floor. Rui is one of this team's best shooters but playing him over Vando and cam compromises us on defense. A player like DFS addresses that by meeting you at the middle. He isn't the scorer Rui is, and is about 5 years older but his catch-and-shoot ability and defense outweigh Rui's shot creation on a team like the Lakers. I do love Rui's fit in Brooklyn though. He matches their timeline much better than Dorian does and his ability to create his own offense would be useful on a team that doesn't have much playmaking on it to begin with.

Trade 2: Caruso + Drummond for Gabe Vincent + Jaxson Hayes + 2029 Unprotected Let's get the obvious out of the way first. This team needs a backup center badly. They have no interior presence outside of AD. Having someone like Drummond who can come in, get rebounds, and protect the basket would be a huge get for the Lakers. Having someone like Andre would also help LA against bigger teams like the Nuggets or 76ers when you'd want AD at the 4 to provide help defense as opposed to keeping him at the 5. I'm not going to get much into what AC brings. We all know how good he is. As for the Bulls yeah the players coming back here are underwhelming. Vincent is opting for surgery and is on a 3-year deal and Hayes just isn't a fundamentally sound player BUT there is not a draft pick out there that the Bulls can realistically get for Caruso that is as valuable as the 2029 Lakers First UNPROTECTED. Just for context, the lakers managed to get DLO Vando and Beasley for arguably the worst contract in the league and still managed to get protections on that first.

Rotation:

AR / AC / DFS / LBJ / AD

DLO / TP / VANDO / DRMMOND