Lake Show Life
Fansided

NBA trade rumors: 3 new teams that could become sellers for the Lakers

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 08: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks shoots and scores against Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena on January 8, 2023 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 Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 08: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks shoots and scores against Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena on January 8, 2023 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 Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

2. Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz underwent a fire sale over the offseason that saw the team trade both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Utah made out like bandits trading these two, getting a lot of value in return for a core that was not good enough to win the NBA Championship anyway.

Many expected Utah to go on a complete sale after these trades and that was not completely the case. While the team did trade the likes or Patrick Beverley and Bojan Bogdanovic, they had more moves that they could have made but didn’t.

It seemed like it was paying off early as the Jazz were one of the best teams in the league at the start of the season. However, Utah started to slide down the standings and play like the team many expected them to be. Utah has lost seven of its last 10 games and is currently 21-23.

While the Western Conference is wide open, it Utah sells quickly enough it could plummet down the standings to increase the likelihood of getting the first overall pick. That has to be the goal at this point in time for a team like the Jazz.

Jordan Clarkson would be a home run trade acquisition for the Lakers but it seems like the Jazz want to keep him around long-term, so that may not be feasible. Kelly Olynyk could be a fun target but would take several players to make the money work. Then there are young role players like Nickeil Alexander-Walker or Jarred Vanderbilt that the Lakers could explore.

Home/Lakers News