What are the Lakers’ five best trade assets just over a month before the deadline?
The Los Angeles Lakers are currently 8-30 with just 40 days remaining until the NBA Trade Deadline on Feb. 18. While there aren’t any moves to be made that could suddenly vault this team into playoff contention, there are potentially moves to be made that could help the franchise move forward in the current rebuilding process.
One of the chief targets that the Lakers should be in the market for at the trade deadline would be to try and acquire a first-round draft pick, even if it’s well outside of the lottery. With the uncertainty surrounding the Lakers’ own pick that will go to the Philadelphia 76ers if it falls outside of the top three, the front office would be wise to try and ensure that they get a first-round pick by acquiring one via a trade.
The problem there, though, is that the Lakers aren’t exactly flush with assets that they would be willing to part with or that have value around the league. After all, how much do teams really covet anyone who plays a major role on an 8-30 team?
However, there are several assets throughout the Lakers roster that could potentially be valuable to the right teams in the right situations. Whether the Lakers are putting together a big package to try and secure a player like a DeMarcus Cousins or are simply trying to get a pick or young asset, there are still some pieces that could be moved before the deadline.
With that in mind, these are the Lakers’ five best trade assets just a little more than a month away from the trade deadline.
Next: No. 5 Bass
5. Brandon Bass
Though he’s come on strong as of late while the Lakers have been playing a far more inspiring brand of basketball, Brandon Bass hasn’t exactly made a great deal of sense in Los Angeles this season. Not only is he a veteran player clogging up the rotation and taking away minutes for younger players, but he doesn’t exactly fill any role that would make sense for this Lakers team.
That being said, Bass has shown that he can still be a productive frontcourt player n the offensive end of the floor and does bring the experience of being a role player on championship teams along with him. For a contender in need of depth in their frontcourt, Bass could be an affordable option for other teams to inquire about with the Lakers.
Bass isn’t a particularly valuable trade asset in terms of what a trade for him would bring back to Los Angeles. He’s not nearly valuable enough for the Lakers to demand a first-rounder in return for. However, he’s a player that could be valuable if included in a larger package or if he were to be traded to fill a need in exchange for a young prospect with upside. Both of those sound at least a little enticing for LA and make Bass one of their most valuable trade chips.
Next: No. 4 Swaggy P
4. Nick Young
Nick Young has been a frustrating piece in the Lakers rotation for most of the 2015-16 season, even when his production has been impressive. Despite the outside shooting that he brings to the table and the fact that he’s played some of the best defense of his career at times this season, he’s a role player that doesn’t make a great deal of sense for a rebuilding team like the Lakers.
However, someone with Swaggy P’s skill set could potentially be valuable elsewhere around the league. While no team in the NBA is going to be foolish enough to try and bring Young into the fold to anchor their wing rotation, there are plenty of teams who could use a potentially lethal shooter from the perimeter to bring off of the bench as a sort of wildcard who can carry the offense on occasion with the reserves.
Much like Bass, Young isn’t particularly valuable on the trade market in that he’s not going to bring back a first-round pick for only him. Again, he could potentially be a part of a package that would bring in a pick or a young asset, though (or even part of a package for a bigger name if the Lakers go that route), which gives him value to the Lakers as they head into trade season.
Next: No. 3 Hibbert
3. Roy Hibbert
It’s been evident through the first half of the Lakers’ season that Roy Hibbert really is a terrible fit in Los Angeles. Not only is he a veteran presence on a team that needs to be experimenting with youth (looking at you, Tarik Black), but he’s also not been able to serve his primary objective with this team in terms of consistently protecting the rim and improving the Lakers defense overall.
Hibbert as a trade chip is interesting for a number of reasons, the most prominent being that he’s not worth what he’s being paid currently in terms of what he’s been producing in Los Angeles. However, that is at least somewhat negated by the fact that he’s an expiring contract. Subsequently, other teams looking to clear cap-room for 2016 free agency could look to move either picks or young assets in order to pick up an expiring deal like Hibbert’s.
Of all the pieces that the Lakers have, Hibbert is one of the most likely to be dealt (or so it seems). What kind of deal he would be a part of remains to be seen, but an expiring contract of that size is incredibly valuable in terms of what’s going to be a hectic 2016 free agency period and some teams around the league could bite on the opportunity that Hibbert presents in that regard.
Next: No. 2 Lou
2. Lou Williams
While Hibbert is one of the most likely pieces to be moved at the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline, Lou Williams is the most likely from my perspective. From the moment that the Lakers signed him this offseason, he’s seemed like a strange piece on this Lakers team as he’s better suited as a highly capable sixth man on a good team rather than a featured piece on a rebuilding roster.
Williams has also been playing exceptionally well as of late, including his career-high scoring effort against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 8. There’s no questioning that Williams is still a high quality NBA player that has real value to a franchise and he’s only making that more clear. However, it would make more sense for the Lakers to try and move him to unclutter their backcourt rotation and to pick up assets in the process.
For the right team or contender, it’s at least foreseeable that the Lakers could potentially pick up a first-round pick in exchange for Williams. However, it’s more likely that Williams would be used as part of a package that would sweeten the pot with a trade partner so that they would throw in a pick. Even still, his value on the market to a contender in need of a scoring sixth man makes him highly valuable.
Next: No. 1 Randle and Russell
1. D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle
This is a bit of a precarious situation because, if I were running the Lakers front office, there’s no way I would part with either Julius Randle or D’Angelo Russell this early in their career. However, with the way that the Lakers front office has operated in recent years and even this season, it’s something that you can’t rule out. Subsequently, the two youngsters have the highest trade value on the Lakers roster.
It would be interesting to listen in on calls with the Lakers front office to see what kind of value both Randle and Russell would individually demand on the trade market. However, their real value would come in the form of the Lakers trying to make a big splash to acquire an established star ahead of the deadline. Potential trade partners in that type of deal are going to demand a ton of value and that would almost surely include the likes of former lottery picks like Russell and Randle.
Next: Lakers Draft Prospects: Brandon Ingram
Again, I think it would be incredibly unwise for the Lakers to deal either of their two best young assets on the roster. However, there’s no denying that there would be a market for either player if they were to be made available and that putting them into a package could yield a nice haul in return for the Lakers. Because of that, it’s hard not to put the young duo at the top of the list of assets in LA.