Lakers Rumors: Trades Unlikely In Coming Months

With the Lakers stuck at the bottom of the Western Conference, one might think the Lakers could be looking to improve the roster by bringing in a big name and hoping for a run at the playoffs.

However, Sporting News writer Sean Deveney has reported that it appears unlikely for the Lakers to make moves in the coming months.

"The Lakers, meanwhile, don’t figure to be very active on the trade market in the coming months, according to league sources. The Lakers were able to come up with the draft pick (from Houston) in exchange for taking on the contract of guard Jeremy Lin, and they’d be interested in adding another pick."

While this article seems to focus on the idea of adding talent to the Lakers roster considering it was written within an article discussing the possibility of Rajon Rondo being traded to LA, the guys at Basketball Insiders think the Lakers could move some players for draft picks at the trade deadline.

"One move that could be a possibility for these Lakers is trading off some of their veterans, such as Jordan Hill or Nick Young, for draft picks before February’s trade deadline. This could give them some more picks to continue their rebuild and also allow them to lose some more games, which could help them finish with one of the worst records in the league and keep their top-five protected pick that they owe the Phoenix Suns."

If the Lakers are interested in rebuilding in the normal sense, unloading some of their veterans for draft picks makes the most sense.

Right now, Jordan Hill’s trade value is at an all-time high. While he has an implicit no-trade cause as a result of his two-year contract with a team option for the second season, he could approve a trade to a contender without his second year guaranteed, or the Lakers could pick up his option and his no-trade clause will then disappear.

It’s hard to imagine Hill would deny a trade to a playoff or title contender, and it’s harder to imagine that he wouldn’t warrant at least a first-round pick in return, a deal the Lakers should absolutely take.

Nonetheless, with the trade deadline not until mid-February, there are many months and many more rumors to be had before the dust clears.