The Los Angeles Lakers did a great job in reinventing the roster last season to make a run all the way to the Western Conference Finals. While it was a great turnaround, there is more work to be done this offseason.
One player with an unclear future in Los Angeles is Mo Bamba, who the Lakers acquired for Patrick Beverley and a second-round pick. Bamba was hurt shortly after joining the Lakers and never got a chance to play his way into the rotation. With a $10.3 million salary, he likely won’t be in LA next year.
However, his $10.3 million salary is still very valuable. It is large enough to trade for another solid player, and more importantly, is non-guaranteed. Thus, if a team wants to free up salary-cap space they could trade a player for Bamba straight-up then waive Bamba to free up said money.
That creates various scenarios in which Bamba can be traded. That includes a potential trade package that would bring one of the sport’s best three-point shooters to Los Angeles.
Very rarely do we see straight-up trades like this in the NBA but there are compelling reasons for both parties to agree to a one-for-one swap involving Joe Harris and Mo Bamba. Let’s dive into the reasoning.
Why the Los Angeles Lakers could say yes to this trade:
It is quite simple: the Los Angeles Lakers still need to add three-point shooting to the roster and Harris has been one of the better three-point shooters in the sport in recent years. There are flaws in his game, yes, but for what the Lakers need Harris would be a great addition.
If the Lakers have that one extra impact off-ball shooter then the Western Conference Finals would have been a lot different. Is Harris the difference between the Denver Nuggets and Lakers being NBA Champions? Probably not. Would the WCF have been much different? Absolutely.
Harris wouldn’t be asked to create much on offense and he could be hidden on defense with the right players around him. After all, Harris is a 43.7% three-point shooter in his career who has shot 45.2% from three over the last five seasons.
Why the Brooklyn Nets could say yes to this trade:
We just talked up Joe Harris to the point where it seems absurd that the Brooklyn Nets would trade him. While Harris undoubtedly has value as a shooter, he is not a complete player and that does hurt his value on the trade market.
He also makes a lot for someone who is an elite off-ball shooter and does not add much else. Not many teams are willing to take on a $19.1 million salary for someone who is one-dimensional, especially considering the kind of contracts that would have to be traded in return.
But that is the entire point for the Nets. By trading Harris for Bamba, the team would essentially be clearing $19.1 million in salary-cap space. With Cam Johnson’s restricted free agency this offseason, freeing up that space could be key.
The Nets have already shown their hand that Harris is not expected to play as big of a role moving forward. Since March 1 of last season Harris averaged just 13.8 minutes per game. Brooklyn definitely does not want to pay someone almost $20 million to play less than 15 minutes.
The alterantive for Brooklyn would be trying to find a team that wants Harris and has the contracts to trade in return. But then Brooklyn would be swapping an expiring deal for multiple contracts that add up to close to the same amount, anyway. No team is going to trade a first for Harris, so at that rate, it is better to just clear the books entirely.