Los Angeles Lakers: Should Bradley Beal, John Wall discussions be had

With John Wall and Bradley Beal reportedly becoming available from the Washington Wizards, should the Los Angeles Lakers look to acquire either player?

Trade rumors have quieted down surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers in recent weeks as the team has begun figuring things out. However, they are heating up on the East Coast with the Washington Wizards.

Recent rumors imply that the Wizards are listening to all offers, including ones that include John Wall and Bradley Beal.

After nebulous indications that the Wizards would try and trade either one of their star guards at the start of the season, a disappointing 5-11 start by Washington has led them to look into a possible changeup.

Wall is still 28 but has exemplified poor attitude and lack of intention. Beal, on the other hand, is just 25 years old and is one of the top shooting guards in the league.

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Recently on “The Jump” on ESPN, Amin Elhassan implied that the Lakers should be going after one of the Wizard star guards, but Bradley Beal in particular. For the Lakers, trading for Beal would mean giving up one, if not multiple, pieces of the Lakers identified ‘young core.’ Interestingly enough, the Lakers have been put into similar situations to this of recent.

During the 2017 offseason, the Lakers refused to give up their second overall pick, Lonzo Ball, or their second-year player, Brandon Ingram, in a trade to Indiana to acquire Paul George.

What seemed like a guarantee for George to join the Lakers, the restraint to make a trade for George ultimately led to the Thunder acquiring him in a trade, and further convincing him to sign a multi-year deal. This past summer, the Lakers had a chance to go after the available Kawhi Leonard but didn’t offer enough yet again.

Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka decided to hold back on giving up pieces of their young core for a few reasons. For one, they have confidence in their young core. Additionally, the Lakers front office feels confident that they could have signed George, and can still sign Leonard. While this is a risky route to take, the Lakers do have the ability to intrigue big time free agents.

I don’t think the Lakers should trade for John Wall, but I do think they should go after Bradley Beal.

Beal is only 25 years old, which is only four years older than Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball. Kuzma and Hart are both already 23. Beal has clearly proved his worth, but with his age and shooting capabilities, I think the Lakers should feel very inclined to trade for him.

It’s important that the Lakers don’t give away too much, with a few things in mind. Acquiring Beal would be taking away the possibility of the Lakers signing one max free agent this summer.

Trading away young assets would also eliminate the possibility of trading for Anthony Davis. Optimistic Lakers fans have been visioning the possibility of a LeBron-Durant-Davis team-up, and pulling the trigger on a Beal trade would put a stop to that possibility.

To me, however, Beal is just about as good as it gets in terms of his age, capabilities, and solid contract. If it means giving up a Ball, Kuzma or Hart, I think the Lakers should pull the trigger. They should maybe even pull the trigger if it means sending off two of those guys…