Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks recently had a mysterious meeting together at the NBA Combine. This got fans thinking about what could be on the horizon as the Lakers and Nets were undoubtedly the two most disappointing teams from this past season.
Both teams have issues that will hold them back next season as well. The Los Angeles Lakers are desperately looking to trade Russell Westbrook and pivot off of his massive contract. Meanwhile, Brooklyn has absolutely no idea what they are going to get out of Ben Simmons in the future if they get even anything out of him.
The Lakers are Nets are never going to have a two-team trade that solves both of these problems. There is zero chance that the Nets would take Westbrook, especially with Kevin Durant. However, the two teams could loop in a third team to address both of their issues and perhaps that is what this mysterious meeting was about.
A three-team trade that solves the prime issues for both the Lakers and Nets:
The New York Knicks are a popular team in our trade proposals because they should have every reason to trade for Russell Westbrook (more on that later).
With Simmons being such a polarizing player that did not even play last season there are probably a lot of Lakers fans who might instantly shut this trade down when they see it. However, the Lakers have plenty of reasons to say yes to this trade, as do the other two teams.
Let’s dive into why the Lakers could say yes to this trade as well as why the Knicks and Nets could say yes to this trade.