Lakers: 3 Trade Deadline Targets at Shooting Guard

Caris LeVert

Age: 22

Contract: Signed a multi-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets after being drafted No. 20 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft.

2016-17 Relevant Stats: 3.4 PTS, 2.5 REB, 1.9 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.1 BLK

If your initial reaction to seeing this name is “who?” I suppose that’s fair. The same could be said about half of the Brooklyn Nets’ roster. With the exception of Brook Lopez and Jeremy Lin, your guess is as good as mine.

Like the Lakers, the Nets are going through somewhat of a rebuild (just don’t tell Sean Marks that). However, unlike the Lakers, the Nets’ future doesn’t look too bright. They owe their next two first round draft picks to the Boston Celtics and with the exception of Lin and Lopez, Brooklyn fans don’t have a ton to be excited about. They should be sellers at the trade deadline.

Their best bet at getting assets would be dealing Brook Lopez in exchange for a handful of picks, but there has been no indication they’re willing to do that. The next best thing would be fielding calls for some of their young players–no matter how few there are.

One player on Brooklyn’s roster LA should inquire about is rookie Caris LeVert. LeVert was drafted with the No. 20 pick in the 2016 NBA draft, but only because his draft stock plummeted after suffering a season-ending injury during his final season at the University of Michigan.

Despite missing the last eight games of his senior season, LeVert was named as a top 10 finalist for the Jerry West Award, given to the top shooting guard in college basketball. In other words, he’s pretty good.

While his stellar college play hasn’t quite translated to the NBA yet, he’s not doing too bad for someone that was drafted late in the first round. Among rookies attempting at least three 3-pointers per game, LeVert is fifth in the NBA, ahead of heralded sharpshooter Jamal Murray.

He might not be the All-Star shooting guard fans are hoping for, but he’s a prospect worth pursuing to add to the Lakers’ young core. Lou Williams, Jose Calderon and a second round pick for LeVert (and maybe a filler) should get the deal done.

The Nets are still roughly $8 million under the salary cap floor, so they would be able to absorb both Williams and Calderon’s contracts using cap space. In fact, the trade would put the Nets over the cap, allowing them to avoid any penalty from the NBA for being under the cap.