Lakers Trade Rumors 2016: 5 Possible Destinations for Lou Williams

Jan 23, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) shoots the ball between Portland Trail Blazers forward Meyers Leonard (11) and center Ed Davis (17) during the second quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) shoots the ball between Portland Trail Blazers forward Meyers Leonard (11) and center Ed Davis (17) during the second quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
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Jan 25, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Jeff Green (32) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen (9) celebrate after the play during the second half against the Orlando Magic at FedExForum. Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Orlando Magic in overtime 108-102. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Jeff Green (32) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen (9) celebrate after the play during the second half against the Orlando Magic at FedExForum. Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Orlando Magic in overtime 108-102. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

2. Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies have long been in the business of needing to bolster their offense on the perimeter. While Lou Williams isn’t exactly Stephen Curry or Kyle Korver, he’s been a solid outside shooter this season that also offers a pretty versatile scoring attack as an individual player. As Memphis seems like a plausible candidate to really shake things up at the deadline given the recent injury to Marc Gasol, they could be a potential destination for the current Lakers guard. 

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As stated, the Grizzlies have had a perennial need to add scoring on the wings and Williams is an obvious answer to that. However, without Gasol potentially for the rest of the season to help facilitate the offense out of the high post, that could call for the Grizzlies needing to add wings that can create their own shot, which just so happens to be one of Lou’s areas of expertise.

The tricky thing with the Grizzlies is trying to find a trade that works financially. While Memphis could send the Lakers a number of different packages that would work under the CBA, that doesn’t mean that there’s many great deals for the Lakers. Looking at Memphis, the best option would be just to try and trade Lou for an expiring contract like Jeff Green. No matter how they get the trade, though, the Lakers sending Williams to Memphis seems more than feasible.

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