Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
There isn’t a move that can be made at this point to salvage this lost season for the Los Angeles Lakers. About the only one that might have made any sort of impact would have been the re-hiring of Phil Jackson. But Jim Buss crapped that bed with his midnight drunk dial of Mike D’Antoni.
None the less there is still a sliver of hope that this team can sneak into the postseason so naturally as the trade deadline approaches the rumors begin to spread.
According to a report in the Sacramento Bee the Kings are looking to unload combo guard Tyreke Evans with the Lakers supposedly being among the interested parties. The report also states that the Memphis Grizzlies could be weighing options for the future of Rudy Gay. Supposedly Memphis has already been fielding calls and the Lakers are among those showing interest.
Naturally there are the logical questions of why and how.
With regards to the why neither Evans nor Gay will do much to turn the tide this year. Of course since this franchise is looking at an uncertain future it would make sense to start thinking long term. Gay and Evans are both entering the peak of their careers and both could be part of some team’s future.
That brings us to the how.
What the Lakers can offer for either player is limited. Memphis is looking to shed salary so shipping Pau Gasol back to where it all began might not make much sense unless the Grizzlies are looking for an expiring contract after next season. As for Evans, there really isn’t an attractive offer out there for Mitch Kupchak to make. Besides, Evans has a knee issue that should come with an Andrew Bynum warning label.
Then there is Jim Buss claiming there won’t be any moves made before the deadline. Of course he said the same thing this offseason before acquiring Steve Nash and Dwight Howard so who really knows what the thinking is around the organization these days?