The Lakers should at least explore making these five trades or something like them happen this season
It’s the turn of the New Year and that leaves many NBA teams starting to think about the second half of the season and what’s in store for their team. That naturally includes what trades a team could possibly make before the NBA Trade Deadline and what those deals would accomplish. Even with virtually no shot at the postseason, the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t excluded from those types of ponderings.
While many teams approach the trade deadline operating under the premise of how to improve the team this year, the Lakers should have a different approach when it comes to free agency. Whether the Buss family and Mitch Kupchak will have that approach remains to be seen.
Even still, the Lakers have to look at any potential trades in terms of acquiring assets and potentially acquiring draft picks. This is a franchise in the heart of a rebuilding process and there aren’t going to be any trades available that offer immediate fixes.
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Subsequently, any trades or trade propositions should be centered around clearing more cap-room for next summer, getting high-value on young players with upside, or acquiring a security blanket for the 2016 NBA Draft in case the top-three protected first round pick falls to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Moreover, it would be great for the development of the young players if Kobe Bryant wasn’t on this team eating up their minutes. But realistically, there’s not a chance in hell that Kobe is getting traded while he’s on his farewell tour and retiring at the end of the season. His contract will be off the books at the end of the season regardless, so any trades that would involve trading Kobe to help develop young players is just a silly impossibility.
Obviously having those sorts of parameters limits some of the deals that could be made leading up to the NBA Trade Deadline, but there are undoubtedly deals to still be made. These five trades could all help the Lakers organization in their own way moving forward and should at least be discussed by the front office in the coming months.
Next: No. 5 Goodbye, Sweet Lou
No. 5 A Cold Glass of O.J.’s Expiring Contract
When you think about the possibility of the Lakers trading Lou Williams this season, the first thing that you think of doing probably isn’t trading him for a player who is essentially a lesser version of him. However, that’s what current Milwaukee Bucks guard O.J. Mayo essentially is in terms of his off-the-bench scoring role and lack of many other contributions. Even still, a one-for-one swap would make sense for both the Lakers and the Bucks.
For Milwaukee, they would get a player in Williams that actually makes sense in terms of their roster. One of the biggest knocks on the Lou signing for the Lakers is the fact that he doesn’t make sense as a piece of a rebuilding team. He’s a luxury as a scorer and playmaker on a playoff team, not a team like the Lakers. Putting him in Milwaukee would put him in that more natural role.
What’s important for the Lakers is that Mayo’s contract is expiring and will give them $7 million more to operate with in 2016 free agency. Considering that will bump them up from roughly $63 million in cap-room to $70 million, that sounds fantastic for a team trying to rebuild and reload with weapons for the future—and a lot better than paying Lou $7 million until 2018.
Next: No. 4 Acquiring A Twin
No. 4 Walking With the Suns
The Phoenix Suns haven’t exactly made it a secret that they are just about done with power forward Markieff Morris. Moreover, Morris himself has been saying on and off since this past summer that he wants to get out of Phoenix. All that Ryan McDonough and the Suns are waiting for is the right trade partner and, at the very least, the Lakers should try to be that suitor.
For one, the Lakers could use this opportunity to dump some players that don’t really fit into their plans, but that could potentially work in Phoenix. Brandon Bass would provide a needed veteran presence in the frontcourt, Ryan Kelly would be an interesting asset, and Nick Young would be a luxury off of the bench as a scoring wing that the Suns could legitimately use after the Eric Bledsoe injury.
That beings said, the Lakers need to swing for the fences if they’re going to try and make this deal. You’d love to see them go after a first-round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft considering that theirs might be heading to Philadelphia and that the Suns have multiple first-rounders in this draft. Even if it’s just Morris, though, his upside is worth far more than any of the three players would be to the Lakers moving forward.
Next: No. 3 Bass for Bazz
No. 3 All About That Bazz, Not That Bass
As we’ve talked about, the goal of this Lakers team moving forward and moving into the post-Kobe era of the franchise has got to be acquiring young assets that can either be used as part of the core of the organization moving forward or as parts of a trade moving forward. That being said, there’s a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves to be made that could help accomplish that while also alleviating one of the more problematic pieces on the roster.
Brandon Bass was a strange signing for the Lakers when it happened and that hasn’t changed a bit. However, he’s still a veteran player that could have some value to a team in the right situation and that situation could be playing alongside his former teammate in Kevin Garnett and giving Minnesota much needed depth in their frontcourt.
More importantly, the Timberwolves would be unloading Shabazz Muhammad, a player that they’ve reportedly been shopping recently. The Lakers should jump at the chance to pick up a player with Muhammad’s upside. Even if they have to give up a second-round pick in a addition to Bass, the potential of Bazzy is worth more than the combination of Bass and the normal value of a top second-rounder normally would be.
Next: No. 2
No. 2 Swaggy Future Cap-Room
It’s no secret that one of the biggest things that the Lakers have going for them looking ahead to the summer of 2016 and the post-Kobe era for the franchise is the fact that they are going to be working with a multitude of cap-room in 2016 free agency. As of right now, the Lakers are going to be approximately $63 million under the salary cap heading into free agency next summer. However, that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t create even more room under the cap to operate with.
There are two deals on the books for the Lakers beyond this season that are somewhat concerning: the contracts of Nick Young and Lou Williams. With both players set to be around for quite the next couple of years after the 2015-16 season, the only way they aren’t going to be around is going to be if they are traded. Luckily, a little dealing with the Denver Nuggets could make that happen.
The Nuggets have been killed with injuries on the wing to guys like Wilson Chandler and, to a less serious degree, Danilo Gallinari. Though Will Barton and Gary Harris have emerged, nabbing a player like Young would give them solid depth and a potential weapon in their rotation. Moreover, they’d only be losing a player in J.J. Hickson that’s not doing much for them at all in terms of workload, but would benefit the Lakers as an expiring contract.
Next: No. 1 Hibbert Moving East
1. Hibbert Goes To Boston
There’s not a trade that makes more sense given the Lakers’ current situation and expected plans for the future than going into dealings with their rivals in the Boston Celtics. The deal would send Roy Hibbert and Ryan Kelly to Boston in exchange for David Lee and a 2016 first-round pick. If you’re wondering why that’s a fantastic deal, I’m glad you asked.
For one, acquiring Lee for Hibbert as far as the Lakers are concerned makes sense in that it allows Los Angeles to still get a hefty contract off the books at the end of the season with Lee’s deal also expiring. Moreover, it opens the door for young players like Tarik Black to see more minutes. Plus, it comes at the expense of losing an albatross contract who largely hurts the on-floor product (Hibbert) and a player who hardly sees the floor, though he may have some potential (Kelly). This also comes with a first-round pick.
Next: 5 Things For Lakers Fans to Look Forward To in '16
This is where things get a bit tricky because it assumes two things about the Celtics and this trade. Though they have four first-rounders in the 2016 NBA Draft, they aren’t going to depart with them easily. However, they’re also a team in the market to improve their frontcourt by adding a true center. While DeMarcus Cousins would be their ideal target, that’s a role Hibbert could fill for at least the remainder of the 2015-16 season. The question is whether or not that’s worth one of four first-round picks to Boston. If it is, the Lakers would be foolish to not secure a first-rounder when their lottery pick is in danger of being moved.