3 former LeBron James teammates the Lakers could trade for
By Jason Reed
3. Jae Crowder
Jae Crowder and LeBron James were not teammates long with the Cleveland Cavaliers but with Crowder being the most likely player in the league to get traded at some point, he has to make this list.
However, things were not totally great between Crowder and LeBron, hence why he is last on this list. LeBron and Crowder have developed a well-documented beef but as we saw with Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley this season, those things can be put to bed.
Crowder has not suited up with the Phoenix Suns all season as the two sides agreed that it would be best if he sat until a trade developed. Phoenix likely thought a trade would develop much sooner, as here we are in January and he is still available.
That shows that Crowder may not have the trade value that the Suns were expecting and as that value continues to dwindle the Lakers might be able to swoop in and make a trade that does not cost the team too many of its assets.
That being said, the Suns also could be saving Crowder’s salary figure to include him in a bigger trade if the team makes an upgrade. Someone like Kuzma could even come to Phoenix and Crowder would be key in making that happen.
The Lakers landing Crowder is down the list of possibilities but if it is between trading Crowder and buying him out, the Suns will trade him every single time.