Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Players Lakers could target in a mid-season trade

Jae Crowder

The Memphis Grizzlies receive: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

The Los Angeles Lakers receive: Jae Crowder

While not an earth-shattering/franchise-altering trade, this trade does address the major needs of both teams.

For the Memphis Grizzlies, they can address their lack of shooting. With newly drafted point guard Ja Morant on the squad, the Grizzlies put an experienced, two-way player in Kentavious Caldwell Pope beside him in the starting lineup.

KCP doesn’t need the ball in his hand to be effective which will give Morant plenty of opportunity to be the leader of this team while having a sturdy veteran by his side.

For the Los Angeles Lakers, they add the perfect complimentary player. In Jae Crowder, the Lakers get a player who knows his role and knows how to do it well.

With Crowder, you know exactly what you are getting. You get a tough two-way player who is going to play hardnosed defense and is not afraid to get into his man’s chest on a nightly basis.

You get a solid 3 and D player who will provide you with quality minutes off the bench when the likes of LeBron James and Danny Green are off the floor.

In Crowder, you get a versatile defender who has been capable of defending some of the league’s best players over the years and has never backed down from the best players in the game. That is a rare trait in today’s NBA.

This also allows for the Lakers to shift the likes of Avery Bradley over to shooting guard, his natural position and gives the likes of Quinn Cook and Alex Caruso more game time.

With James and Crowder having previously played together with the Cleveland Cavaliers, it might be an instant hand in glove fit for the purple and gold.

With this trade, the Lakers get the depth they so badly needed at small forward and add a player who is capable of being an important playoff performer.