Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve Washington Wizards forward Davis Bertans, as the purple and gold have emerged as a suitor for the sharpshooter.
The Los Angeles Lakers rumor mill continues to churn despite the team continuing to win games. Los Angeles is 30-7 on the season, yet it seems likely that the team will make some sort of move between now and the NBA Trade Deadline on February 6th.
The Lakers aren’t a perfect team. They could use some help in specific areas, so you can be sure that they will pinpoint those areas and attempt to upgrade them accordingly. Another point guard, a wing defender and some more floor spacing, specifically from the frontcourt, is what the team is looking for.
Rob Pelinka and company will have to get creative in acquiring a player that fits the bill for any of those things, let alone all three. Andre Iguodala would be the ideal fit, but at this time, it seems unlikely the Memphis Grizzlies will buy him out as they wait out a team offering draft compensation for him.
Instead, it is likely the Lakers will have to go the trade route to get anything roster upgrades done. With a full roster, that won’t be an easy task either, but you can be sure they won’t leave a stone unturned.
There have already been a few players linked to the Lakers. Darren Collison, who is currently retired, and D.J. Augustin, the point guard for the Orlando Magic, have both been mentioned as backcourt possibilities. Marcus Morris of the New York Knicks has been mentioned as a potential upgrade in the frontcourt. Now, we have another player that is on the Lakers’ radar.
According to NBC Sports Washington, the Lakers are one of the teams interested in acquiring Davis Bertans from the Washington Wizards. However, they are far from the only suitor for Bertans, as the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets have all expressed interest as well.
It is easy to see why teams would be interested in acquiring Bertans. He fits the mold as a modern big man as he can stretch the floor with the best of them.
Bertans is shooting 43.4 percent from the 3-point line and isn’t shy about letting it fly. It is impressive enough to connect at that rate, but to do it on 8.6 attempts per game makes it even more impressive.
He showed off his impressive range earlier this season while at practice, knocking down nearly 40-footers with ease.
Yooooo Davis Bertans is doing shooting drills from almost 40 feet and he’s hitting all of them: pic.twitter.com/JdLqT9uiqh
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 13, 2019
Adding someone with a jump shot like that alongside LeBron James would be deadly. However, such as the case with all of the players linked to the Lakers, the case of what can they offer comes up.
Los Angeles doesn’t have much in the way of assets to trade. The Wizards already have a majority of what the Lakers had to trade, as they accepted what was essentially a salary dump by Los Angeles to get them max salary space this summer.
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There is also the issue of the Wizards being high on Bertans. Wizards general manager, Tommy Sheppard, has said that Bertans is someone that the team wants to re-sign this offseason, as he is currently playing on an expiring deal.
"“We have every intention of retaining him. He’s the exact type of player we want to have in our organization. I think he wants to be here. Business will take care of itself,” Sheppard said.“There’s so much chit-chat in this league that gets out there. Most of it is contrived by the teams that would love to have Davis. Well, guess what? One of the teams that would have to have him, has him. We intend to keep him. We’re excited about his growth.”"
The situation the Wizards find themselves in is similar to the one the Knicks have with Morris. Both the Knicks and Wizards are going nowhere fast, as they are rebuilding. Morris and Bertans are both having career seasons on expiring deals, but bring a lot to like to the respective teams they currently play for.
That could also be a negotiating tactic by the teams, attempting to drive up the price on attractive assets Can the Lakers or another contender pry these sharpshooters away from their teams? Or will those teams stick to their guns, hold onto their veterans and re-sign them this offseason?
We will have to wait and see! One thing that is certain is that there will be plenty more Lakers rumors popping up in the coming days and weeks.