Los Angeles Lakers: 4 reasons to consider trading for Bradley Beal
By Robert Marvi
3. He can ease the tension about this year’s team making the playoffs
After their January 15 win over Chicago, the Lakers are tied with Utah for the eighth spot in the west (the Lakers hold the tiebreaker). They are one game behind San Antonio, but only half a game ahead of Sacramento.
LeBron James and Rajon Rondo are getting close to returning, but now Lonzo Ball is dealing with an ankle injury suffered against the Houston Rockets. Even if they return soon, there will surely be a readjustment period, and it’s always possible LeBron may be on some kind of minutes restriction (just speculation).
Acquiring Beal for the right price can give this team a positive jolt, not just physically, but even more so mentally. It would give the team a bigger margin for error, and also supply them with the confidence they need for the tough stretch they have ahead between now and the All-Star break. During that time, they play the Clippers, Indiana and Boston once and Golden State and Philly twice.
That stretch could very well be the proverbial acid test that could either give the Lakers a steep hill to climb just to sneak into the postseason or possibly be the impetus for a hot second half of the season if they manage to win more than half of those games.