LOCKED UP: PELICANS SET "VERY HIGH" PRICE FOR LAKERS' DREAM DEFENDERS
The Lakers' trade hunt for a 3-and-D wing is hitting a wall. The Pelicans have set a "very high asking price" for Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III, making a deal nearly impossible with limited draft picks.
One thing that keeps hurting the Lakers in losses this season is their trouble guarding quicker backcourts. It shows that they need better perimeter defenders.
With the trade deadline coming up, the Lakers really want to get a good 3-and-D wing. This is a player who can stop drives, defend top scorers, and space the floor on offence. They have been talking to people around the league about players who fit this description.
The Lakers have looked at guys like Andrew Wiggins from Miami and Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones from New Orleans, who are both good defensive players. But it might be hard to get any of them.
NBA insider Marc Stein said that a lot of teams are wondering if the Pelicans would listen to trade offers for Jones or Murphy.
Stein said that New Orleans has set a very high asking price to scare teams away. Both players are good wings who are on reasonable contracts, which is why the Pelicans don't want to trade them.
Dan Woike of The Athletic agreed, saying that the Pelicans don't want to trade Jones. He added that the Lakers don't have many draft picks to offer, which makes a deal almost impossible. They only have one first-round pick they can trade (in 2030 or 2031).
Woike wrote that the Pelicans probably wouldn’t be interested in what the Lakers can offer, which is expiring contracts and one first-round pick.
He said that New Orleans could change their mind by the Feb. 5 deadline, but it would take a lot to convince it to trade a good defensive wing to a team in the same conference.
After losing to the Spurs 132–119, head coach JJ Redick didn't hold back when talking about the Lakers' defence.
There are very few teams that don’t have something that you can take advantage of, Redick said. And we usually get exposed to the same things.
The Lakers have one of the worst defensive ratings among teams with at least 15 wins. They allow 116.7 points per 100 possessions, which is 21st in the league. That's not good for a team that wants to win a championship.
"I think the hardest thing for our team right now is containing the ball," Redick added.
That was obvious against San Antonio, where Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De'Aaron Fox scored a combined 24-for-43. Castle had 30 points, drove to the basket easily, and shot nine free throws. He and Fox also made seven three-pointers together.
Lakers star Austin Reaves, who has had trouble against quicker guards, agreed with Redick about the team's defence.
That’s a weakness we have to fix, Reaves said. The spirit is still good here. We know we can do it. But we have to defend as a team of five.
Rich Paul, LeBron James’ agent, also talked about the Lakers' defensive problems on The Ringer’s Game Over With Max Kellerman and Rich Paul.
I personally don’t think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders right now, Paul said. He said they don't have enough athleticism to compete with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets.
When asked to explain, Paul said that it would be hard to reach the Western Conference Finals with the current team.
The Lakers don't have many draft picks, so they are realising that it's hard to make trades.
The price for good two-way wings has gone up, so the Lakers will have a tough time improving their team before the deadline. Some of the players they want might just be too expensive.
RAIDERS PLACE RECEIVER JUSTIN SHORTER ON IR; SIGN HOOSIERS STAR BRADY
With Justin Shorter on IR, discover how new signing Jonathan Brady fits into the Raiders' wide receiver youth movement for 2026.
The Raiders aren’t sitting still; rookie minicamp just started, and they're already shuffling the roster. Right now, some veteran players are basically on borrowed time as the team leans hard into getting younger.
Take Justin Shorter. He’s been in Vegas since 2024 but hasn’t caught a pass in an actual NFL game. Well, his spot just got even more shaky. The Raiders put him on the Reserve/Injured list, which, let’s be real, is never a good sign this early in the offseason. Usually, that sort of move means a buyout could be next so he can test free agency.
There’s a steady influx of young receivers competing for spots, so it’s tough to see Shorter making his way back, even if he heals up. To fill his spot, the team signed Jonathan Brady, a receiver out of Indiana.
Nobody’s really sure what kind of injury Shorter has. If it’s serious, maybe he sticks around and rehabs with the team. If not, we might see him try his luck somewhere else.
As for the Raiders’ wide receiver group, the youth movement is real. Wide receiver was a big need heading into the offseason, but they didn’t do much outside of signing Jalen Nailor and drafting Malik Benson in the sixth round.
Vincent Bonsignore from the California Post pointed out that the Raiders might still look to add more receivers if the current group doesn’t step up. He basically said that the early rounds of the draft went to bigger needs, and now guys like Bech and Thornton Jr. have a chance to prove the team doesn’t have to keep looking elsewhere. But don’t expect the Raiders to hesitate if things look shaky.
Now, about that passing game, it was rough last season. The Raiders finished in the bottom five. But with Klint Kubiak calling plays and Fernando Mendoza hopefully taking over for Geno Smith, things honestly should get better. If Kirk Cousins ends up starting, he’s probably an upgrade, too. And bringing in Tyler Linderbaum at centre will only help.
Chances are, the Raiders will use an early pick on a receiver in next year’s draft. Even though they have a rookie quarterback waiting in the wings, they didn’t spend big at receiver this offseason. Maybe that’s because they don’t expect him to start right away. Who knows. For now, the wide receiver group looks decent enough to get by.
NFL EXECUTIVE NAMES COLE PAYTON HIS "NO. 2 QUARTERBACK" IN THE 2026 CLASS
From 94.6 PFF grades to 4.56 speed, Cole Payton is the Eagles' latest QB project. Analysing his path to the NFL depth chart.
Cole Payton, who played quarterback at North Dakota State, might end up making a bigger splash as a fifth-round pick than people expect.
He’s not just another late-round flyer, either. An NFL executive recently told insider J.L. Canfora that Payton has real upside. The Eagles have done something similar before, so this isn't coming out of nowhere.
Remember Carson Wentz? Philly grabbed him with the second overall pick back in 2016, but Jalen Hurts ended up taking over. Now, some people around the league think history might repeat itself with Payton possibly replacing Hurts down the road.
The executive went all in on Payton: “You know, I believe in that kid. That was my No. 2 quarterback in the draft. And Howie [Roseman] takes him? Come on. He sees it too. Cole Payton, if you bring him along the right way, can start in this league.”
Roseman, the guy in Philly’s front office, was a big part of the Wentz pick. He’s seen his fair share of quarterback changes over the years, and honestly, that might matter this time, too.
The executive didn’t hold back: “All the stuff you hear about Hurts, all the drama and where he is in his contract." You can call me crazy, but I think this kid could take over from him in a few years. They did this with [Kevin] Kolb, even when [Donovan] McNabb was still there. I know how Howie thinks. This kid has a chance.”
Payton had to wait for his turn at NDSU.
Payton rolled into North Dakota State in 2021, known as a strong recruit for an FCS quarterback, straight out of Omaha.
He was supposed to be the next big thing, just like the string of successful Bison quarterbacks before him. But things didn’t break that way at first. Cam Miller, the QB ahead of him, kept stacking up wins and making a name for himself in Fargo.
Miller even beat out Quincy Patterson II, a gifted dual-threat quarterback who transferred in from Virginia Tech. After Patterson got banged up in 2021, Miller took over, steered the team to a national championship, and then hung on to the starting job through 2024.
Patterson left for Temple, so Payton slid into the Bison’s running packages in a spot that Patterson had filled before. And Payton did more than just fill that role. In 2022, he ran for 284 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries. By the next year, he really took off: 615 yards and 13 touchdowns on 84 carries.
Setback, then a breakout
Payton started 2024 looking like the same kind of threat on the ground, but a shoulder injury cut his season short. He only managed 164 rushing yards and a score on 21 carries before he went down.
Finally, in 2025, his shot as the full-time starter arrived after Miller left for the NFL draft, drafted by the Raiders in the sixth round. Payton made the most of it. He led NDSU to an unbeaten 12-0 regular season, completing 70% of his passes for 2,719 yards, with 16 touchdowns and just four picks. And he still ran wild, with 777 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 136 carries.
Now, he’s got a fresh chance in Philadelphia. If you ask people around the league, he’s not just there to hold a clipboard. They're watching to see what happens next.
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