Trade chatter around the Los Angeles Lakers (17–7) continues to intensify , but the team’s most frequently linked target may not be attainable. According to a Thursday report from The Athletic’s Dan Woike, New Orleans Pelicans wing Herbert Jones sits atop the Lakers’ internal wish list — yet league signals indicate the Pelicans have no interest in making him available.

Woike wrote that rival scouts and executives most often identify Jones as the Lakers’ preferred target. However, he noted two immediate barriers: Jones cannot be traded until Jan. 14 due to the three-year extension he signed in July, and New Orleans has shown no willingness to discuss a deal .

“While Lakers fans can fantasize about some all-out liquidation of the three-win Pelicans’ roster, team and league sources te

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