UNLV Professional Athletes

UNLV in the NBA | Week of Sept. 6–12, 2026

The most talked-about UNLV alum in the NBA right now isn't suiting up for a game — he's at the center of one of the league's most persistent trade pursuits of the offseason.

Derrick Jones Jr., the Clippers wing out of UNLV, has emerged as a priority target for the Los Angeles Lakers as they work to build a complete roster around Luka Doncic. The problem: the Clippers aren't selling.

According to Heavy Sports, the Lakers' trade pursuit of Jones Jr. is expected to be denied by Los Angeles' other franchise. The Clippers have shown little interest in moving the versatile forward despite the Lakers' repeated overtures — and multiple reports suggest that dynamic isn't changing anytime soon.

What's driving the Lakers' fixation? Their wing rotation remains unsettled after missing out on Jonathan Kuminga, leaving a real gap on the perimeter that Jones Jr. — a switchable, high-motor defender with playoff experience — would neatly fill. The Lakers have had an active transitional summer with several roster moves, but the front office has made clear it isn't done trying to surround Doncic with the right pieces.

A new Clippers report gave the Lakers a significant trade update this week, per Heavy Sports, though the development did little to open the door. The Clippers appear to value Jones Jr. as part of their own forward-looking plans, making him a difficult extraction no matter what package the Lakers might assemble.

For Jones Jr., the situation is a testament to how much his standing around the league has grown. The 6-foot-6 forward has carved out a reputation as exactly the kind of two-way wing contending teams covet — the sort of player who doesn't show up in highlight reels every night but makes his presence felt in the moments that matter.

Elsewhere Around the League

The rest of UNLV's NBA contingent is in the quiet stretch of the offseason calendar, with no major news surfacing for Khem Birch (Spurs), Keshon Gilbert (Hawks), Elijah Harkless (Pistons), or Donovan Williams (Warriors) during the period.

Christian Wood, the UNLV big man now with the Lakers, finds himself on the same roster currently chasing his former colleague. Wood's fit in LA's frontcourt alongside whatever additions the front office makes could get more interesting depending on how the Jones Jr. saga eventually resolves.

The trade deadline is still months away, but the Lakers-Clippers tension over Jones Jr. is the kind of subplot that tends to simmer — and occasionally boil — well into the regular season. UNLV fans with divided Los Angeles loyalties have a genuinely complicated situation to follow this year.

For UNLV alumni watching the NBA offseason, all eyes are on Las Vegas's own Derrick Jones Jr. — and the growing drumbeat of reports linking the Clippers wing to a trade with the crosstown Lakers.

Multiple reports out of Heavy Sports indicate the Lakers have been zeroing in on Jones Jr. as a priority acquisition, with the Clippers increasingly open to moving him amid the ongoing Kawhi Leonard drama reshaping Los Angeles's roster calculus. One report describes Jones as a "dream" trade target for the Lakers — and suggests the Clippers' front office situation has cracked a door that was previously closed.

Why Jones Jr. Makes Sense

The appeal isn't hard to decode. Jones Jr. is a switchable, high-motor wing who provides the kind of 3-and-D versatility that contending rosters covet. He was a key contributor on the 2024 Dallas Mavericks — the same team that featured Luka Doncic, now a Laker — which adds an extra wrinkle to the trade narrative. One proposed framework specifically highlights the Doncic-Jones Jr. reunion angle as a selling point for the Lakers front office.

A separate trade concept circulating in the same reporting cycle would pair a Jones Jr. acquisition with a reunion alongside veteran center Brook Lopez, suggesting Lakers brass is exploring multiple configurations to build around their core. The common thread in every scenario: Jones Jr. is the piece they want.

The Clippers' Leverage Problem

What's shifted the calculus is the Clippers' own turbulence. With the Leonard situation casting uncertainty over the franchise's direction, holding firm on role players becomes harder to justify. The Lakers appear to be watching that instability closely and timing their push accordingly.

For Jones Jr., the trade buzz puts the UNLV product — who has carved out a lengthy NBA career on the strength of elite athleticism and defensive versatility — in the middle of one of the offseason's most high-profile storylines. A move to the Lakers would put him in one of the league's most scrutinized markets, playing alongside one of the game's biggest stars.

The Rest of the UNLV Board

Elsewhere in the league, UNLV's NBA footprint remains quietly broad. Christian Wood is on the Lakers roster as a power forward — meaning any Jones Jr. trade would land him alongside a fellow Rebel. Keshon Gilbert is with the Hawks at point guard, Elijah Harkless is on the Pistons at shooting guard, and Khem Birch and Donovan Williams remain with the Spurs and Warriors, respectively, though neither has surfaced in recent news cycles.

For now, the Jones Jr. saga is the story. If the deal closes, UNLV will have two alumni in purple and gold — and one of them will have arrived as one of the offseason's most coveted trade chips.