There’s a lot to like about the Los Angeles Lakers right now. Anthony Davis has been a one-man wrecking crew, LeBron James is a triple-double machine and new head coach JJ Redick has hired a roster that is virtually unchanged from a year ago, jumping to a 7-4 start.

The Lakers are one of only three teams in the league not to lose at home, but they have struggled to a 1-4 record at Crypto.com Arena. That’s one reason why most players in the league are skeptical about the possibility of ascending to true contender status, but it’s not the only one.

While AD and LeBron appear to be playing at or near the peak of their powers, D’Angelo Russell has been a disappointment. The point guard was recently criticized by Redick for what his head coach called “a lack of competition,” which led to a shift from the starting lineup.

Between the playmaking of LeBron and Austin Reaves (who have 9.4 and 5.3 assists per game, respectively), the Lakers have all the shot creation they need. That reduces the need for a traditional point guard like Russell.

Russell opted for his player option this summer, meaning he will play this year on an expiring deal. There are few assets rebuilding NBA teams covet more than a contract about to come off the books, and now that the Lakers have many of the components needed to make a deep run, they can they are now trying to trade Russell for a piece that would help them get on the field more.

The NBA trade deadline isn’t until February, but Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka should already be on the phone with non-contending teams to try to upgrade LA’s roster. Here are three players he should make a call on in a potential Russell trade.

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If the idea of ​​trading Russell to the Brooklyn Nets brings about a strong sense of deja vu, it’s because we’ve seen this move before. In 2017, then-Lakers GM Magic Johnson sent Russell and Timofey Mozgov (remember him?) to the Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and a first-round pick.

Cam Johnson is exactly the type of player the Lakers could use. He’s excellent from beyond the arc (39.1 percent for his career), he’s a good defender and he takes care of the basketball to an extreme degree, recently setting an NBA record with seven consecutive games over 30 minutes and zero turnover.

The best LeBron James teams have always surrounded him with shooters. Austin Reaves is reliable from deep and it looks like rookie Dalton Knecht broke out in Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies, but otherwise there aren’t many sharpshooters on this roster. Johnson would be a good fit and he is under contract for two more years after that.

The Nets have surprised the NBA by looking surprisingly playful so far. Their 5-7 record may not sound like much, but in an even weaker than normal Eastern Conference that could be enough to convince GM Sean Marks that he needs to keep the team together to make a playoff push to make. That could complicate any potential Johnson trade, but with Cooper Flagg looming as the pot of gold at the end of the fueling rainbow, the bet is the Nets and others won’t push for a fight.

There is almost always a catch for any team trying to acquire a star via trade. Either the trade target has worn out his welcome in his current home, he has an established injury history, or both. That makes every deal inherently risky.

Zach LaVine is the perfect test case for the kind of risk appetite Rob Pelinka might have. At his best, he is an ultra-athletic wing who can boost his team’s transition game and bring it in from outside. At worst, he is too fragile to stay on the field and ‘not a winning player’.

LaVine has been on the trade forever, but an ankle injury that forced him to miss most of last season kept him in Chicago. However, he is putting his best foot forward early this season, raising the possibility of him being dealt.

LaVine still plays above the rim, but he’s also shooting a career-best 42.6 percent from three. The Lakers could use his athleticism and shooting in a big way, and they could make a trade for Russell work by adding Rui Hachimura and Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Like the Nets, the Bulls have been surprisingly fun to watch this year. Unlike the Nets, the Bulls have never really gone all-in on tanking, which has kept them on the brink of the playoffs for years. Trading LaVine would immediately boost their lottery chances, and while they can’t use Russell much with Coby White and Josh Giddey already on the team, they could re-deal him to a point guard-needy team for a draft pick and cap. savings.

To reach a deal, the Lakers would have to decide if they feel comfortable enough about LaVine’s health to bet their season on it. If they’re willing to take the leap, it’s the kind of high-risk, high-reward move that can really make a difference.

Sometimes to move forward you have to go back. The Lakers once employed Brandon Ingram, and with the Pelicans reportedly shopping him for a while, Pelinka was able to swoop in and add one of the most underrated scorers in the game for a similar package to what would be needed to land LaVine.

Ingram was a fine young player during his first three years in LA, but he has evolved since joining the Pelicans. He averaged more than 20 points per game six straight seasons, and this year he was one of the few bright spots on a New Orleans team that has fallen to a 3-9 record.

The Pelicans have been killed by injuries this year. Zion Williamson is out indefinitely with a strained hamstring. Dejounte Murray has been out since Opening Night with a broken hand. CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy and Jordan Hawkins have all missed multiple games. Ingram and Jose Alvarado were the only Pelicans regulars able to stay on the court, but even Alvarado recently went down with a hamstring injury of his own.

The Pelicans were hoping they could compete this year, but it’s clear they’re in the middle of the year. A move to the lottery is a no-brainer, and trading Ingram would help facilitate that.

New Orleans needs someone healthy enough if they trade away Ingram, and Russell would be a great fit to fill in for Murray and Alvarado. Hachimura is a solid player who can eat up minutes but won’t make a difference in the win column, while Hood-Schifino could get the minutes to develop on a team at the top.

It’s not hard to see how JJ Redick could use Ingram around LeBron and Davis to great effect. Trading Russell and Hachimura for Ingram could also open up a spot for Knecht in the starting lineup. LeBron at point forward, surrounded by Reaves, Ingram, Knecht and Davis, would be one of the most potent offensive lineups in the league.