Lakers: 3 Players to Trade for Using Cap Space

2. Tiago Splitter — C, Atlanta Hawks

There’s a possibility that NBA fans outside of Atlanta may have forgotten about Tiago Splitter at this point, but he’s still kicking it with the Hawks. But if you thought that the former San Antonio Spurs big man was wallowing in obscurity while Al Horford was there, just wait until Dwight Howard gets there. Splitter may still have a role, but is it a role that the Hawks want to be paying him $8 million per year for, even with the cap rising? I don’t know about that.

It feels like if this trade were to happen, it would ultimately be a deal that goes down some time in the middle of the season rather than the start of the regular season. If the Hawks are competitive in the Eastern Conference, they then may look to try and shed salary so that they could make a trade to vault themselves even higher in the proverbial power rankings of the conference. That’s where the Lakers could come in and take Splitter off of their hands with some incentives like picks thrown in as well.

This deal may not be as likely as the person we have at No. 1, but you have to look at the situation that the Hawks are in and see how poorly Splitter seemingly fits into what their doing and wonder if he’ll be finishing up the year there. Though he’d only further complicate the Lakers frontcourt, Splitter could be a nice one-year rental that also brings in other assets to LA.

Next: No. 1 Tyreke