Los Angeles Lakers: 5 big man trade candidates to consider

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5. The Deal: Robin Lopez for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope + 2nd Round Pick

The Chicago Bulls currently have a logjam at the center position that Robin Lopez is finding himself on the bottom of. Lauri Markkanen, Bobby Portis, and Wendell Carter Jr. are all ahead in the big man rotation as the Bulls look to rebuild and develop and their young players.

Because of this, the Bulls are most likely going to end up near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and would be wise to start acquiring assets for anything that isn’t nailed to the floor on their roster.

This makes Lopez the perfect trade candidate.

Lopez provides size, rebounding, and a decent offensive game that won’t make him a liability on either end of the floor. In addition, his ability as a box out guy should allow guys like LeBron, Lonzo and Rondo to grab-and-go off the rebound and jumpstart the Laker’s transition offense.

KCP’s contract of $12M is almost equal to Lopez’s deal of $14.4M and is well within the $5M allowance the CBA allows for salary matching. Also, with Lopez’s contract set to expire at the end of this year, the Lakers can still preserve their cap space to acquire a max free agent.

On the Bulls side, KCP can either be waived or re-signed should they like what he brings to the roster, alongside an extra draft pick, and the Lakers become the first team to have traded for both Lopez brothers — it’s a win-win for both teams.

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