Lakers Rumors: Trade talks to clear cap space are going nowhere

Recent Lakers rumors are that they haven’t had any luck trying to create more cap space.

With free agency right around the corner, a lot of the recent Lakers rumors have been about how they are going to get more cap space.

While the Lakers desire having enough money to spend on another max free agent to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that isn’t the case right now. In order to make this happen, the Lakers will need a few things to fall into place.

First, they have to get rid of the contract of Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, and Jemerrio Jones. When the Pelicans decided to trade the 4th overall pick to the Atlanta Hawks, it gave the Lakers an opportunity to combine all of the deals into a three-team deal in order to get what they want.

However, getting rid of the three contracts that they want to doesn’t seem imminent for the Lakers. According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, talks have gone nowhere for the Lakers.

"The Lakers have shopped the spare parts they have remaining, per league sources, but with a limited ability to sweeten a deal with draft picks, talks have gone nowhere. That leaves the Lakers well short of a max salary slot (goodbye, Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving) and in a tough position to nab multiple high–level players, especially in a market where Terrence Ross could command $15 million or more per year."

Not being able to clear the contracts necessary to create enough money for a max slot could limit what the Lakers do in free agency. While getting a star player will be their first goal if they have the money, signing talented role players to round out the roster wouldn’t be a bad second option.

Considering that Wagner was a first-round pick last season and isn’t drawing any attention in trade talks, is pretty concerning for his future. Wagner didn’t do much for the Lakers in any meaningful games, and it doesn’t appear like he has impressed too many around the league if trade talks involving him are stagnant.

The Lakers do still have time to clear these contracts before the Davis deal is complete. However, with free agency right around the corner, getting this done has to be a priority.