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Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar savior is finally revealed

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 09: Head Coach Darvin Ham of the Los Angeles Lakers watches play from the sidelines during the first quarter against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on November 09, 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 09: Head Coach Darvin Ham of the Los Angeles Lakers watches play from the sidelines during the first quarter against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on November 09, 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers are off to one of the worst starts in franchise history despite having the second-greatest player in league history and another big who is a top-10 player in the NBA when he is playing at his best.

Making matters worse is the fact that Russell Westbrook has played quite well since moving to the bench. This might be the best version of Westbrook in Los Angeles and if the team is playing this bad it does not bode well for the rest of the season.

The worse the team continues to play early on in the season the less likely they are to make a trade that could turn the season around. Despite not having a draft pick, Rob Pelinka and the front office may reject the notion of trading assets to move Westbrook and just look ahead to the 2023-24 season.

That being said, there might be a potential savior that the Lakers have in their crosshairs this season that could turn the season around and create a new big three for upcoming seasons. Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reports that Los Angeles has an interest in a very particular superstar player that would do just that.

Bradley Beal is quite a big name for the Lakers to be interested in, especially for a team that reeks of desperation. That brings up the (valid) question for fans to ask:

Can the Lakers trade for Bradley Beal?

Well yes, yes they can. It would take Russell Westbrook and first-round picks going to Washington for Beal. The 2027 and 2029 unprotected firsts probably would not be enough as the team would also have to attach a 2028 pick swap (which they can do since it is a swap) to sweeten this deal.

So how could this happen after Beal just signed an extension with the team? It would take the superstar following in the footsteps of other NBA superstars and demanding a trade. As we know with the NBA, superstars are predictable and if the Wizards are a middling team it would not be surprising for Beal to simply get out.

Beal has a full no-trade clause in his contract as well so if it gets really ugly he could essentially sit out and force his way to the Lakers if that is really where he wants to play. Bottom line: Beal has to force his way to Los Angeles.

While it seems unlikely, there might not be that many other teams that would actually be able to offer more for Beal than what the Lakers are. While Beal is talented, he really has not accomplished much and you are not going to see an upcoming team strip down their entire young core for him as LA did for Anthony Davis.

In a potential trade, Washington gets financial freedom with an expiring contract and picks that are expected to be extremely valuable. It is not the most likely thing, but it is possible.

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