The NBA trade deadline is fast approaching and with that, the NBA trade rumors are beginning to swell. One of the most prominent teams on the rumor mill is the Los Angeles Lakers, who should be looking to improve at all costs after such a disappointing start to the season.
While the Lakers would undoubtedly welcome any sort of upgrade this season, the team still needs to draw a line in the sand and not make a desperate move. The last thing the Lakers need is to make another bad deal and some players on the trade block would represent just that.
There are 3 players in the NBA trade rumors that the Lakers should avoid.
Whether it is because the players in question don’t add anything new to the team, aren’t worth the assets or have too much risk involved, there are players that Rob Pelinka should refrain from trading for this offseason.
Unfortunately, after the Russell Westbrook trade this offseason, no Laker fan can fully trust the team to make a sound decision when it comes to making a trade. With the pressures from up top as well as LeBron James, mistakes are made.
Hopefully, the Lakers can avoid another mistake by avoiding these three players that have been wrapped up in NBA trade rumors.
1. Buddy Hield
The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly still pursuing Buddy Hield at the deadline and he is someone who does not make a lot of sense for the Lakers. The Lakers nearly traded for Hield in the offseason and made the worse decision of trading for Russell Westbrook. While Hield would have been better for LA then, he is not better for LA now.
The Lakers would have to trade at least Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and a first-round pick for Hield. That is a lot considering the Lakers did not want to trade THT for Kyle Lowry just 11 months ago.
Hield would have been a better fit than Westbrook but as the team is currently constructed it does not make a lot of sense to add him. The Lakers already have several three-point shooters who don’t play much defense and Hield would not add anything new to the team.
In fact, the Lakers already have a better version of Buddy Hield on the roster in Malik Monk. Hard pass.
2. Eric Gordon
There is no guarantee that the Houston Rockets trade Eric Gordon at the deadline but he is a prime trade candidate. He plays on a bad team, offers something that almost every contending team needs (shooting) and has a decent-sized contract that the Rockets can save some money on.
Plus, at his age, he is only going to get worse in the NBA, not better. That is part of the reason why the Los Angeles Lakers should not trade for him.
Gordon simply is not worth what the Lakers are going to have to trade. Like Hield, the Lakers are going to have to package THT and Nunn together as well as adding a first-round pick to the package. The Rockets are reportedly not trading Gordon for anything less than a first-round pick.
It is simply not worth it for the Lakers. They would be trading their only young asset in THT, another asset in Nunn and a future pick for someone who can shoot and plays horrendous defense.
I have written this before and I will write it again. Nobody can say with a straight face that the Lakers could play an underside two-guard in Gordon next to Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington, or Avery Bradley and actually expect good results.
3. Caris LeVert
The Indiana Pacers have struggled this season and are likely going to have a firesale at the NBA trade deadline. At this point, it would be more shocking if Caris LeVert was still in Indiana after the deadline than if he was with a different team. In fact, it has become more likely that LeVert will be dealt after Myles Turner suffered a stress fracture in his foot.
The problem is that Indiana is asking for at least two first-round picks in the trade for LeVert. While the Lakers can trade two picks (can trade the 2027 first-round pick as well as earlier pick swaps) it is not something the Lakers should do.
LeVert is a big name and it might seem like a quick fix to the Lakers’ problem if they trade Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, some expiring contracts and two first-round picks for him. The team is trying to win a title, right? Might as well go all in.
Not quite. While LeVert is a great player, he is simply too injury-prone and that is the last thing the Lakers need to trade two first-round picks for. The team is already dealing with injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis and LeVert would cause more of that headache.
Quite frankly, the Lakers would be better off trading picks to get off of Russell Westbrook’s contract rather than trading those picks for an injury-prone player who cannot guarantee he will be healthy in the playoffs.
It would be a big splash, sure, but that splash would not result in anything but disappointment.