Trade scenarios for the Los Angeles Lakers if Avery Bradley opts in.
The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship. They did so without Avery Bradley playing one game in the bubble. He currently has a player option for 2021, will he opt-in?
Most likely he will opt-in, as his option is set to be a little over $5 million. Which isn’t a bad deal, he still has his flashes on the defensive end and is a good slasher.
He had some nice games with the Lakers last year after battling an injury early on. But he didn’t wow anyone or do anything that was off the charts. So with the 2020 offseason being one that is short and there isn’t much time to mess around, could Bradley be on the move?
The Lakers are very talented and they possess two of the best players in the league. But with the league coming back even stronger next year, with superstars returning from injuries, the Lakers need to make a few around the house moves to stay at the top.
Running the same team back next year may not be the recipe to repeat. So Bradley becomes an intriguing option if he opts in to try and get a player back that may provide more to the team.
There are teams out there that need wing defenders. Ones that will give up a scorer or a ball handler to do so and that’s what the Lakers could use off of the bench. As there will be some roster turnover when free agency opens up.
The team has guys who can defend on the wing as they’re constructed. So if they see a deal on the market for Bradley they could bite. At $5 million, it won’t make or break a team when it comes to the tax apron.
Rob Pelinka has done a tremendous job with the Lakers, setting them up great with their salary cap situation. Now he has some flexibility to work with as the Lakers look to repeat in 2021.
Let’s take a look at a few deals.