Lakers may have to overpay in potential Daniel Gafford trade

If the Lakers are going to try to do a trade with the Mavericks again, it might have to come at a higher price.

For a long, long time, the Lakers and Mavs will be linked with one another thanks to the Luka Dončić deal.

More specifically, the front offices will be forever associated with each other as well. Nico Harrison, Rob Pelinka and Luka will all be mentioned within the same breath for a very long time.

Because of that — and because of the backlash from Dallas fans to that deal — it is remarkably unlikely the two front offices are going to be working on a deal in the near future. And if they are, negotiations are going to be tricky.

With Cooper Flagg set to join the Mavs, they will almost certainly be shopping a center, most likely Daniel Gafford. But if the Lakers are getting involved, it’ll come at a high price. On the latest episode of “Buha’s Block,” Jovan Buha of The Athletic mentioned that trading for Gafford would be challenging.

“My read is they’d probably have to overpay. It would probably have to be something like Gabe [Vincent], Dalton [Knecht] and a first [round pick] for Daniel Gafford and that’s a lot.”

As good of a fit as Gafford was alongside Luka, giving up two of your best assets for him would be a steep price. When the Mavs traded for him, the cost was a first round pick and matching salary. While his stock has improved since then, a promising young player and a first plus matching salary is a lot, as Buha said.

There is also the argument that there are other centers on the market available, too. The Lakers don’t have to go after Gafford.

The asking price, then, will likely drive the Lakers away from Gafford, even if he is the most known quality alongside Luka of the potentially available players. But if things come back around to Dallas, don’t expect a steal of a deal this time around.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.