Lakers Rumors: Over/Under odds on KCP, Harrell and Schroder trades

With LeBron James getting injured the weekend before the trade deadline coupled with a three-game losing streak, the Lakers Rumors are rampant with players on the roster being moved. Lake Show Life has been quieter than in previous seasons due to the lack of options the front office has. But one tweet turns into a report that the staff has to speak out on. 

It didn’t take long for the Lakers rumors to go crazy did it? The Lake Show Life readers were prepared because…they were warned.

Thursday, March 25th at 3 PM EST is the mecca of NBA drama as the trade deadline comes to a close. The Los Angeles Lakers already were going to get some mentions in the rumor mill because Lakers rumors are internet gold to any NBA writer getting paid by the click. But last Saturday, LeBron’s high ankle sprain injury changed everything.

Since this turn of events, the Los Angeles Lakers’ offense has fallen off the cliff and they have lost three straight games that should be considered blowouts.

• Los Angeles Lakers lose game and LeBron James to injury against Hawks
• LeBron-less Los Angeles Lakers fight hard but fall to Phoenix Suns
• Los Angeles Lakers get blown out by Brandon Ingram’s Pelicans
• Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons in Ingram/Zion beatdown against Pelicans

With the Los Angeles Lakers lacking superstars and no clue as to when Marc Gasol will return to the lineup (Conditioning issues!), Lakers rumors have skyrocketed at the NBA trade deadline. Most would be considered ridiculous considering the team’s hard cap restrictions, but a new report indicating that the Los Angeles Lakers are willing to move on from offseason acquisition Dennis Schroder got the staff’s attention.

Now the rumor mill has gone from the Lakers considering locking up Dennis Schroder up with a possible 4-year $83 million extension to the trading block in less than a week? Really Lakers Nation?

Now that “The Menace” has now been added to a long list of players that the Lakers are apparently willing to part ways with. There are three players of real magnitude that Lake Show Life will cover leading up to the deadline. In reality, the rest of the roster is expendable not named LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Dennis Schroder:

Dennis Schroder has season averages 15.0 points, 4.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. Coming a year when he was runner up for the NBA 6th Man of the Year award,  most believe he is stepping into his prime at 27-years-old.

Montrezl Harrell: 

Montrezl Harrell has season averages of 14.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 44 games (One start!). The reigning NBA 6th Man of the Year has been the most consistent Laker in the absence of the superstars as well as a dominant scorer at times throughout the season coming off the bench.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope:

It has been the classic “The best of times and worst of times” for KCP’s entire era in the Lakers “Purple and Gold”. When he is good (As shown in the NBA Finals in the bubble!) he is the perfect shooter on a LeBron James constructed team. When he is bad, social media use his play as a comedy special during and after Lakers games. Sadly, it’s the worst of times for KCP averaging about 8 points on seven shots a game. After a 1-7 effort against the Pelicans and a 0-5 clunker against the Hawks, his trade rumor is no surprise. 

Everything behind the scenes is angling toward one player that is coveted by every championship contender in both conferences…Andre Drummond.

The Drummond chess match added a player when the LA Clippers reduced the number of players on their active roster to 13 when they traded Mfiondu Kabengele to the Sacramento Kings.

During ESPN’s trade deadline special on Wednesday afternoon, Adrian Wojnarowski added the Clippers to the list of potential suitors for Andre Drummond, if should he be bought out the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets are also rumored to be interested in better financial options.

Pelinka’s charge is handling these short-term issues.

• Keeping the Lakers competitive playing without superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
• Make sure the Lake Show does not fall outside the top six seeds in the Western Conference avoiding the play-in tournament before the playoffs.
• Doing all of this on a tight salary cap budget so they can make decisions in the offseason while paying massive luxury taxes. 

Still, Lakers fans (Especially this writer!) trusts the front office that put together the team that won an NBA title less than six months.

Lake Show Life has put together a special trade deadline report breaking down the realistic odds of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder being traded on Thursday. The next several pages will break down theories from not only the Lakers but the other teams as well. These Lakers rumors surrounding these players are not completely performance-based (Okay…maybe for one of them they are!) but because their contracts are the easiest to move.

Let’s get started with the best performer in this list, Montrezl Harrell.  

Lakers Rumors: Montrezl Harrell is linked to the Charlotte Hornets!

The Lakers have their backs against the wall at the center position. Lake Show Life warned that the addition (Marc Gasol!) by subtraction (Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee!) offseason decision may come back to bite the front office. Now that Davis, Gasol and James are gone from the lineup for the foreseeable future with the waiving of Damian Jones, the Lake Show is small…REAL SMALL!

While Harrell has filled an important spot in the rotation, the team’s front office heads into the deadline in a tricky situation. Even though Trezl has played very well on the offensive end scoring the ball, his pick and roll gets exposed and plays like this keep the coaching staff up at night.

https://twitter.com/Suns/status/1373825509612605441

Harrell solid play and contract makes him a valuable trade asset who could bring in a good return  and Drummond’s arrival could make him more expendable following the expected buyout.

Possible trade scenario with the Charlotte Hornets: 

According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Lakers are willing to entertain offers on Harrell as the deadline approaches.

"“Charlotte has also called the Lakers about Montrezl Harrell, Los Angeles’ bruising center, sources said, and the reigning champions appear willing to entertain offers.”"

There are two things that need to be pointed out here.

• One, the Hornets, tried to sign Harrell during the offseason before Harrell turned them down and joined the Lakers.
• Two, these rumors conveniently came out AFTER the Hornets lost LaMelo Ball for the season with a broken right wrist.

Despite the 18-37 long-distance shooting performance in the Pelicans game, the Lakers need shooting just as bad as a center. What shooter does Charlotte have to give to the Lakers that is worth Harrell? Before last weekend, Devonte’ Graham, a restricted free agent, may have been a viable option when Ball replaced him as a starter. Now that LaMelo is gone, the Hornets will keep him for the playoff run. Malik Monk? No. Bismack Byombo? PFFT!

The only way the Hornets could provide what the Lakers need is by way of working a three-team deal when they can acquire Harrell and send draft capital to a third-party who provides the Lakers with the shooter that they’re looking for (Example: Norman Powell or Terrence Ross).

To anyone thinking that Hornets guard Terry Rozier is an option, forget it. Charlotte deems him untouchable the way he is playing this season and his price tag is too high for the Lakers hard cap budget.

Over/Under for Harrell getting moved: Under.

Montrezl Harrell is not going anywhere! For all of his shortcomings on defense, good luck finding a player on the trade or buyout market that provides what he does. Plus with LeBron and AD out, the Lakers really need him now.

Lakers Rumors: The Los Angeles Lakers are actively shopping Kentavious Caldwell-Pope around the NBA! 

It doesn’t take much to get the Lakers rumors started when ESPN’s Brian Windhorst speaks. Either way, it’s an acquired taste to fans. Either you believe it or not. His report floating the Lakers shopping guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope around set things off.

"“The Lakers have been working the phone since the LeBron injury looking for wing players. The problem is that they don’t really have a whole heck of a lot to offer. They have discussed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in trade scenarios, but from what I am told they are not willing to include a draft pick, or their best young player, which is Talen Horton-Tucker, and without those two things to grease, I don’t know if they’re going to get the kind of wing that could make a difference.”"

Okay, let Lake Show Life water this report down. What NBA General Manager that wants to stay employed in a financial crisis would take on KCP’s freshly new three-year deal at $40 million? Even if the last year is unguaranteed?

While Caldwell-Pope has been a reliable outlet for James and the rest of the team at times in his tenure, as of the night before the trade deadline here’s the story on KCP.

• He can’t create his own shot.
• He doesn’t penetrate well off the dribble.
• Right now, it’s not about saying KCP can’t shoot. It’s the fact that he WON’T shoot.

What the Lakers won’t give up in a draft pick and THT would be a starter just to get a GM to pick up the phone without laughing.

The Lakers may want to make a deal and Lakers Nation would throw a parade if there was one but the fact of the matter is, if the Los Angeles Lakers don’t offer Talen Horton-Tucker as the centerpiece, KCP will be playing against the Sixers Thursday night.

Anything else would be a shocker!

Over/Under for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope being moved: Under.

There is no market for KCP. Most teams have cable and watching his performance the last three games guarantee him staying…for the wrong reason (Also read: Default!).

Lakers Rumors: Dennis Schroder has been offered in trade deals.

Welcome to another Lake Show Life episode of “Life comes at you fast!”. Guest-starring this week…Dennis Schroder!

It was just five days ago Adrian Wojnarowski gave some insight on the Lakers plans to make Schroder a part of their long term future on the Woj Pod…

"“The Lakers are interesting because I think the Lakers are looking a little bit down the road too at their salary structure,” “Dennis Schroder, they’ve got to pay him this offseason. It’s going to cost well over $20 million a year to keep him.” “I do think they would like to free up some of that money they owe down the line to put themselves in position to keep the guys they have there. I think that’s kind of at the center of some of their talks here around the trade deadline.”"

Since the All-Star break, Dennis Schroder has not played well. Since LeBron’s injury, his floor game overall has plummeted. Outside of the Charlotte game last week, he’s basically played his way to this situation.

So why is he in these Lakers rumors? His contract. Here’s the breakdown.

Dealing with how his contract counts against hard cap here’s the numbers.

• Schroder’s salary is listed at $17.5 million, not $16 million. Here’s what makes him easy to move.
• He has $2 million in incentives, $500,000 of which he might collect.
• $1.5 million looks unlikely the way things are going.
• The hard cap accounts for both, so dealing him opens up more financial flexibility.

Over/Under for Dennis Schroder being moved: Under.

For all of the debates surrounding this website about Schroder’s play (Boy the writer is looking like a genius now!), the Lakers gave up their rights to a first-round pick in the deal along with Danny Green. Will he command the $20 million dollars being floated around last week? No.

But the Lakers can’t keep giving away first-round picks without a long-range plan. Schroder for better or worse is part of that plan. 

In short, Schroder being moved would be a major surprise.

This concludes Lake Show Life’s last-second trade deadline special report. Are these guaranteed predictions? No. The staff knows Rob Pelinka is capable of anything and will do it in silence.

But hopefully, this will help you with some of your anxiety. Enjoy the trade deals…from the other teams.