The Los Angeles Lakers have lost two consecutive games at the time of writing this and are 1-3 without Anthony Davis. With a losing record against playoff-caliber teams, it is clear that while the Lakers are still in a great position to win the NBA Championship, they could use some help.
Rob Pelinka is a smart GM and he will make any necessary move that he thinks will improve the team. One of those necessary moves could be trading for Houston Rockets’ stretch-four, P.J. Tucker.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski detailed the trade market for Tucker and the fact that the Rockets want a player in return, not just draft capital. When naming teams that are interested, the Los Angeles Lakers were mentioned.
The Lakers do not have a lot to send the Rockets for Tucker but the Rockets cannot ask for much for half a season of Tucker. A trade is certainly on the table, with the following trade feeling like a likely and fair trade package for both sides.
A Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets trade for P.J. Tucker:
There is a lot to digest here and quite frankly, it might be worth it for both the Lakers and Rockets to include a third and potentially fourth team just to shift some of the assets around. They could loop in a third team to take on Markieff Morris, sending another second-round pick to Houston.
A team that could use someone like Morris and should be willing to send a second-round pick for him is the Boston Celtics.
At the end of the day, the Rockets do have limited roster space and cannot take on four players, hence why they might flip some of the assets for more assets with a third or even fourth team. The main assets that they are getting from the Lakers are the second-round pick and Devontae Cacok.
Let’s break down why this trade works for both sides.