Lake Show Life
Fansided

2 trades the Los Angeles Lakers can make to rebuild starting 5

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 03: Talen Horton-Tucker #5 and Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers react during the second half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on February 03, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 03: Talen Horton-Tucker #5 and Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers react during the second half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on February 03, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

The biggest trade that the Los Angeles Lakers could make this offseason is for Kyrie Irving but that might not end up being the direction the team takes. Talks have seemingly stalled between the two sides and the Lakers could be pursuing other options while the Brooklyn Nets figure out what they are doing.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Monday’s ‘Get Up’ that the Lakers might end up making multiple trades. Woj explains that the team might not get Kyrie, might not get an all-star, but still could make more than one deal.

With several teams and trade targets connected to the Lakers, that got us thinking about what kind of trades the Lake Show could make. There is a path in which Rob Pelinka can make two trades to completely rebuild the starting five.

The first trade the Los Angeles Lakers should make:

Now that Deandre Ayton is not going to the Indiana Pacers, after all, the team can take on Russell Westbrook’s contract to get an asset in a future first-round pick. Indiana is going to try and get a second first-round pick in this deal but the Lakers can probably get it done with just one pick.

The reason being is the assets that Indiana is trading do not have much value. Myles Turner has been on the trade block for over a year now and there have not been any teams willing to bite on him. He simply makes too much for a center. Hield, meanwhile, has two more years left on his deal and the Pacers are more interested in getting the salary-cap space for next summer.

All the Pacers got for Malcolm Brogdon was a first-round pick in 2023 that is going to be in the high-20s. He has much more value than Hield or Brogdon, so just one first-rounder is fair in a potential Westbrook dump.

This allows the Pacers to tank for the first overall pick as they either tell Westbrook to go home or buy him out to save the extra money they are bringing in.

Meanwhile, the Lakers get off of Westbrook for two players and save $7.8 million in salary next season.

Home/Lakers Rumors