The Lakers swung and missed this summer, as has been well-documented. Instead of moving toward younger, cheaper talent, the team decided to essentially hit the reset button and do it all over again, loading up on short-term contracts that could be either dealt during the season or expire and give the Lakers max cap space again next summer.
The team did little more to commit to their future, similar to last season. After having just Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and Robert Sacree guaranteed heading into this season, they’ll have just Bryant, Nick Young, Julius Randle, and Ryan Kelly guaranteed for next year.
That leaves a hefty chunk of the Lakers roster with expiring contracts in one form or another. With huge contracts from Nash ($9.7 million) and Jeremy Lin ($8.3 million), the Lakers can be big players come trade deadline time. Let’s take a look at the Lakers most likely to be traded by the mid-February trade deadline.