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
2 of 3
Next
(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

The second trade the Los Angeles Lakers should make:

The Lakers have reported interest in Patrick Beverley, who was traded to the Utah Jazz as part of the Rudy Gobert deal. Beverley was only in the trade to make the salaries work and it would be more shocking than not if he suited up at all for the Jazz next season.

No team is going to trade a first-round pick for one year of a 34-year-old point guard, which makes the Lakers’ offer the most interesting. Most young players do not have contracts like Talen Horton-Tucker’s that are able to be traded for Beverley. If they do, they are untouchable players.

The Lakers can certainly afford to trade THT and probably should this offseason. THT’s timeline simply does not match with the Lakers’ timeline and if he does blossom into a consistent role player it will happen after his current contract with the Lakers, anyway.

Not only does the team improve for this upcoming season by getting their starting point guard to replace Russell Westbrook, but they also get off the contract for next offseason. As much as we want to convince ourselves of THT’s potential, the fact of the matter is that he is overpaid.

Wenyen Gabriel is thrown into this trade to take some of the financial sting off, but more importantly, to even out the roster. The Lakers are bringing in three players in this trade and thus are sending out three players to keep the roster at 14 for a very specific reason.

The final result of these trades would be intriguing and is a Lakers team that could compete for the NBA Championship as long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis stay healthy.

Home/Lakers Rumors