NBA Trade Deadline 2012: The One Trade the LA Lakers Must Make

LAKERS TRADE: Steve Blake, Devin Ebanks, $8M Trade Exception, Mavs & Lakers' 2012 No. 1 Picks

TRAIL BLAZERS TRADE: Ray Felton, Jamal Crawford and Kurt Thomas

This trade simply needs to be made for the sake of both franchises.

I'm breaking my own rules set in this article a bit, as this is technically two trades; the Lakers' trade exception cannot be combined with other players. However, it is essentially a single trade between two teams.

The Lakers would trade Steve Blake and Devin Ebanks for Jamal Crawford with a follow-up trade of their trade exception and both of their first-round draft picks for Ray Felton and Kurt Thomas.