The Los Angeles Lakers are 14-12 to start the season and, for the third year in a row, appear destined for the NBA Play-In Tournament. Los Angeles is 4-6 over their last ten games, and during that stretch, they are 20th in assists and 15th in turnovers.

It’s safe to say that the Lakers need a refreshed game plan, and first-year head coach JJ Redick, despite showing his knowledge on the Mind the Game podcast, can’t playcall his way out of a slump. That much has been proven, and the Lakers are out of the “honeymoon phase,” according to one writer, which is their most “alarming trend” as of late.

“During the first month of the season, there were many positive signs for the Los Angeles Lakers who made the bold move of hiring J.J. Redick to be their new head coach,” wrote FanSided’s Michael Saenz on Monday. “However, now that there is a larger sample size, I wouldn’t say the results are all that promising.”

“If the Lakers are going to snap out of this downward spiral, there has to be some sort of mid-season upgrade that takes place at some point before the NBA Trade Deadline. The problem is, I’m not sure how equipped the Lakers are to make that happen.”

If the Lakers can’t replace Redick, and there is no indication that they even want to, adding a true floor general is a must, and no one is better equipped to serve as an on-court coach more than Chris Paul.

The 39-year-old “Point God” is still elite at running an offense, as demonstrated by his 8.4 assists per game this season with the San Antonio Spurs. He has lost his scoring punch, scoring only 9.6 points a game, but between LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers don’t need a volume scorer.

Are the Spurs even looking to flip Paul? Probably not, as they are also in the thick of the playoff hunt after losing 60 games last year. However, both Tre Jones and rookie Stephon Castle look comfortable handling the rock, so if the Lakers were to overpay, the Spurs could be swayed.

The Spurs, with little motivation to lose their veteran leader, should run a hard bargain. A package of D’Angelo Russell, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2026 pick swap should be enough to pry away Paul and Malaki Branham, but as the Spurs surge and the Lakers fall, Victor Wembanyama might be kept happy by keeping his table-setter in the lineup. 

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