Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players to trade for if they miss out on Anthony Davis

2. Chris Paul

The Houston Rockets receive Josh Hart, Isaac Bonga, Moritz Wagner and a Future 2nd round pick.

The Los Angeles Lakers receive: Chris Paul

The worst thing about this trade scenario is that it is probably the most realistic one that could possibly happen if the Lakers completely strike out in free agency. While Chris Paul will go down as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, he is far from the superstar guard we remember.

Long gone are the days of MVP candidate CP3. Now Paul is a slightly less than All-Star caliber player who has seen a noticeable drop off in production this season and is only going to get worse as he gets older.

The true kick in the teeth in this trade is Paul’s massively bloated contract. While a number of seasons ago you would have gladly taken on this contract as he was at an All-Star level, at 34 years of age with three more years and $124,076,442 left to pay, any team that takes on this contract does so knowing that his best days are behind him.

The main reason why this trade could happen is because of LeBron James. With Lebron and CP3 making up half of the “Banana Boat Crew” and both had expressed a wish of playing together before their careers are finished, it would not surprise me at all if the Lakers pulled the trigger on this deal if they did not land any of the free agent targets they covet.

The only benefit the Lakers would get in this trade is that it doesn’t come at the expense of their main young core in Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram or Lonzo Ball. Adding Paul would cause problems with how the Lakers could juggle him and Ball but I’m sure it could be figured out.