The Los Angeles Lakers have few tradeable assets. At the very least, they lack a ton of what other teams could actually desire in the event of a real upgrade suddenly becoming available. There are two notable exceptions to that. Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero, we are looking at you.
Thiero still remains a sizable mystery after his rookie season. For him, that is not necessarily a bad thing. The allure of his athleticism and the lack of strong evidence to disprove visions of his upside make the second-year Lakers forward someone who could be attractive to other franchises.
Carr, meanwhile, was viewed as a steal on draft day, and has done little to nothing to dissuade that thought. A strong Summer League campaign offered plenty of encouraging moments to build his hype ahead of training camp.
If there are stars or legit starters who become available via trade, the Lakers' lack of notable draft capital will leave them limited in what they can offer. Their commitment to being patient with the development of Carr and Thiero will be gauged in those types of talks when the time comes.
Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero are two of the Lakers' most intriguing trade assets
Jovan Buha brought up an excellent example of a scenario in which the Lakers' desire to see through the developmental journeys of Carr and Thiero would be tested. The host of Buha's Block discussed an idea revolving around New Orleans Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III.
Buha suggested he would part with both Carr and Thiero to pry Murphy away from the Pelicans. His reasoning, explaining the ready-made abilities and upside of Trey in the present, make sense to some capacity.
That is where the Lakers will be challenged.
Players like Murphy would give Los Angeles guys who can more immediately contribute and help a title push with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Since the Lakers lack the draft capital needed for Trey, they would be forced to bargain with their young players substituting for those assets.
The problem with that is the team has so few worthy developmental projects as it is. Surrendering Carr and Thiero would be trimming down an already small operation.
Plus, there is even the chance that a player like Carr can eventually become something similar to that of a Murphy in the NBA. The Lakers would be abandoning the possibility of having that happen in Los Angeles.
So, what is more important — strengthening a title chase in the immediate future or developing players who can be part of the long-term plan? That is what the Lakers will have to asked themselves when teams inevitably poke around Carr and Thiero.
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