Lakers Rumors: Believe it or not…Nikola Vucevic trade!

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors take a look at a possible trade for Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic.

I’m going to let you know right now that Lakers Rumors are going to be a rampant source on Lake Show Life. No check that, Lakers Rumors will be a rampant source of the internet.

There will be so many reports of this player going to this team for this player and a draft pick, it can be overwhelming. Some of it is real, some of it is not. But Lake Show Life is here to help you out.

This is a very difficult time of the season for the NBA fan. There are about three weeks until training camp starts and then the season kicks off October 16th. So much information, so little time. So I have come up with a segment that will break down Lakers rumors every week I see interesting going by the wire.

Writers note…Prepare yourself, probably 90 percent of the rumors will probably include Luol Deng and his albatross contract…enjoy!

Lakers Rumors breakdown number one:

Nikola Vucevic is the cornerstone in a trade who could be sent to the Lakers for Luol Deng, Moritz Wagner and a 2019 first round pick.

There are rumors floating around that the Orlando Magic are looking to move Nikola Vucevic out to free up minutes to develop their shiny and new lottery picks, Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba. Hoops Rumors shined the light.

Then Lake Show Life’s good friends at L.A. Sports Hub came up with a scenario to shore up the center position and getting rid of the only thing outside of LaVar Ball comments in Laker land…Luol Deng’s contract.

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The logistics are as follows:

The Lakers would receive Nikola Vucevic, Jarell Martin, Brooklyn’s 2019 second-round pick and probably a party at Magic Johnson‘s house celebrating Deng’s contract being gone.

The Magic would receive Luol Deng, Moritz Wagner and the Lakers 2019 first round pick.

Will it happen?

No Lake Show Lifers, it won’t. The Orlando Magic is blowing up their squad and starting over (…like again) but I really can’t see the general manager of Orlando signing on such a one-sided deal.

But let’s be fair here, this is the franchise that took on Gilbert Arenas and his ridiculous contract after his knees were shot. Plus, with Houston getting rid of Ryan Anderson‘s contract recently, anything is possible.

The Lakers, however, if they get this deal done, would put the Pau Gasol robbery of Memphis to shame from years ago.

Why?

On paper, the Lakers solidify the center position with Vucevic, who averaged 16.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season. He is an example of the center the Lakers should use offensively and defensively. It’s easily looking better than the Lakers options on the roster now with JaVale McGee and Ivica Zubac.

More importantly, the Lakers get an expiring contract while getting rid of Deng’s two year Magic Johnson headache. This adds up to enormous cap space. We’re not talking about one max cap player here, but possibly two. That’s the worst case scenario.

If Vucevic is a good fit, the Lakers can use his Bird Rights on a contract extension.

Would he be a good fit?

No. Not in my opinion. If the Lakers are to compete in the Western Conference, the roster is going to have to be athletic and be able to push the ball and get easy baskets.

The one thing the Lakers need on the floor is shooters to space the floor for LeBron James to operate. Vucevic has a jump shot out to the 3-point line, but I’m still not convinced.

James is not as efficient in the half court. The Lakers do not have enough talent for a slow it down, offensive system. They have to score and score easily in the fast break, especially against the Houstons and the Golden States of the world. They need to run and continue to improve on the defensive end. Can Vucevic provide that type of energy every night?

Speaking of LeBron James operating on the basketball floor, how will Vucevic adapt? Understand that these stats shown are okay but it was for a bad team. Assuming that he was at least a second option in Orlando, how will he be able to deal with fewer touches?

JaVale McGee has been wildly criticized this summer, but I know one thing…McGee will not demand touches and will bring energy no matter what at ten cents on the dollar.

Believe it or not…will this deal go down?

No. The Magic front office would be laughed out of the NBA. It would be extremely difficult for the Magic to justify giving up an expiring contract in Vucevic for an overpaid player out of the rotation in Luol Deng.

What about the first round pick?

The Lakers are playoff bound so that pick would be out of the lottery.  Moritz Wagner is not going to be anything more than a project. He’s not better than Vucevic so he’ll be so far down on the bench, he’ll be watching it on cable. If the Magic wants to open minutes up for Bamba and Isaac, why bring in Moritz? Doesn’t make sense.

The Lakers would probably be asked to include one or two of the young players on the roster that includes Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram or Lonzo Ball. That’s not going to happen.

The Lakers have smartly been patient throughout the Magic Johnson/Robe Pelinka era. They will continue through this version of Lakers rumors.