1. The Los Angeles Lakers rumors of a Dennis Schroder trade come true
The first potential way for the team to acquire Lonzo Ball is striking a sign-and-trade deal with Dennis Schroder. While this helps the Lakers a lot financially, there are some potential hurdles to overcome for this deal to be the deal.
If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to pull off a sign-and-trade and swap Schroder for Ball then it is going to have to be a one-for-one with added capital going to New Orleans. Schroder is reportedly asking for a contract in the $100-120 million range. While he probably does not get that anyways, the number would have to be close to that for Schroder to agree.
Schroder would get his contract request and have a salary around $25 million. The Lakers would have to agree to pay Lonzo Ball around the same number and that is fair. It is a bit of an overpay for Ball, but I would much rather see the team overpay for the younger player who is a better fit.
You cannot really throw any extra contracts in the deal as that would result in New Orleans taking on way too much salary to even make it worth it. The hope here is that New Orleans really likes the projections of Schroder in New Orleans as a third scorer behind Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
If that is the case I could see them swapping point guards and getting a first-round pick. However, they have to truly believe that they are getting an upgrade, and quite frankly, I would not be surprised if they don’t think Schroder is an upgrade.