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Lakers Trade Rumors: Lou Williams Can Net LA a First-Rounder

By Christian Rivas

Dec 29, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) argues a foul call in the second half of the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center. Mavericks won 101-89. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) argues a foul call in the second half of the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center. Mavericks won 101-89. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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According to league sources, there is a growing feeling that former Sixth Man of the Year, Lou Williams, can net the Los Angeles Lakers a first-rounder.

The Lakers have a decision to make at the looming Feb. 23 trade deadline. Do they continue to try and push for a playoff spot with their current roster or do they trade their key veterans to title contenders?

While most fans are hoping for the latter, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak hasn’t made a move at the trade deadline since 2014, when the Lakers traded Steve Blake to the Warriors for MarShon Brooks and Kent Bazemore. Since then, the Purple and Gold have been inactive at the deadline and Kupchak believes that this year will be no different.

“We’re not actively trying to do something,” Kupchak told Lakers Insider Mike Bresnahan in an interview on Spectrum SportsNet. “I would guess that we would not end up doing anything.”

As disarming as those comments may sound, Mitch has never been the expressive type. If the Lakers were cooking up a trade, you wouldn’t hear it from his mouth. He also said they weren’t “actively trying to do something,” which just means they’re not going to be sellers at the deadline.

However, if someone called dangling a first-rounder for one of their 30-year-old players, Kupchak might stay on the phone. According to a few league sources, Lou Williams might be that player.

Last week, NBA cap expert Nate Duncan, host of the “Dunc’d On” podcast, proposed a trade that would send Williams to Charlotte in exchange for former Laker Ramon Sessions and 2018 top-10 protected first-rounder. A first-rounder for Lou Williams? Blasphemy, except Duncan isn’t the only person that feels this way.

Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding also proposed a trade for Sweet Lou involving a first-rounder. In this scenario, the Lakers would send Lou and Marcelo Huertas to Washington for Trey Burke, Jason Smith and a 2017 first-round pick. What the hell?

Sure, an argument can (and should) be made that the first-rounder is actually compensation for The Catalyst, but that doesn’t take away the fact that there is now a wide-ranging perception that Lou Williams is worthy of a first-round draft pick. Lou freaking Williams.

This probably has to do with the fact that Williams is literally the only player in the NBA putting up more than 15 points per game while seeing less than 25 minutes of playing time per game. His 18.3 points per game off the bench also leads the league in bench scoring.

Teams like Washington, Detroit and Chicago that desperately need bench scoring could give up assets for the sweet-shooting guard out of South Gwinett High School. Assets like a first-rounder, apparently.

Next: Should the Lakers tank?

All stats are accurate as of Feb. 9, 2017, courtesy of NBA.com. For the latest on the Lake Show, give @TheLakeShowLife a follow on Twitter.

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