As the playoffs continue without the Lakers in them and since MLB is just getting warmed up (Go Angels) I’ve had ample time to come up with some trade proposals we could make of my own. Fair warning, not all of them involve Russ as I am of the opinion he has a 50/50 chance of being on the roster next season. Feel free to comment or add your own to the mix.
- Sorry, love me some Primus. Nobody all that foolish here ‘cept maybe yours truly. Anyhoozle. Here we go, trade notion #1: Jordan Clarkson ($13.3 mil) for THT and Nunn, straight up. Jazz get younger and add a shooter/playmaker to approximate what Clarkson does for them. This is contingent on the Jazz not making it out of the first round. They may not want to/be able to get good value for Gobert and THT and Nunn could start for a rebuilding Jazz, should they choose that route. They could also keep much of the core and make a peripheral change like the one above. No draft picks, just players. Jazz, like the Pacers, aren’t exactly known for tearing it all down. This allows them to make a real change that maybe allows them to keep Donavon while looking to trade Rudy somewhere else. I’d consider tossing in a first rounder on down the line to make this happen. Love me some Jordan Clarkson!
- Malik Beasley for THT and Nunn and a 1st rounder. This one takes a 1st rounder because of the team option on Malik’s deal. Depending on how it all shakes out in the playoffs the T’Wolves may also be looking for a peripheral change and this trade gives Minnesota a shooter in Nunn and another young player in THT. Again, contingent on Minnesota getting bounced out of the first round. This one might be hard since they finally made the playoffs, they may want to give the core another season to grow. Also why I toss a 1st rounder in.
- Portland. The Trailblazers have sorta, kinda just faded into the background. All is quiet from the Pacific Northwest. Could a trade for Dame and Westbrook happen? Probably not, while the money works the Trailblazers can certainly do better. So here’s the best shot the Lakers can take: Dame Time, Josh Hart, Justice Winslow, and Trendon Watford (total of $55.6 mil in combined salaries) for Russ, THT, Reaves and both 1st rounders ($54.6 mil in combined salaries). Russ can play it out in Oregon and the Blazers rebuild next summer with Reaves and THT as young cornerstones, 2 future draft picks that may have some value closer to the rebuild and the Lakers can reload on both ends with Dame and Hart. Watford is in there to make the dollars and cents work. Now, do I think that deal has a chance in Hell of happening? No, not unless Lillard says “I done good by you guys, trade me to the Lakers please and thanks”.
- An even more unlikely proposal: Kawhi and Clippers 2022 2nd rounder for Russ and the 2027 1st rounder. This gives up a little more to the Clippers in the draft piucks but the money would work and both teams get a chance to tweak something that could work. Want to swap George for Kawhi? Sure, but of the two Paul has been slightly healthier. This gives the Clippers a player who is battle-tested that they can depend on to take the floor, a large issue for them since acquiring both George and The Klaw. A risky move for the Lakers as it ties Kawhi tot he franchise for a long time and he has a tendency to play even less than AD does. There are no zero risk trade scenarios this summer, though.
- The absolute most unlikely trade proposal. Again, contingent on the team not making it further into the playoffs. Milwaukee Bucks trade for Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez. Russ ($47 mil) for Jrue and Brook (combined $46.2 mil). Hard for me seeing the Bucks breaking up the core that won them their first title in forever but winning comes with the burden of expectation. So, while they don’t NEED to keep Giannis happy they likely would if he felt like Jrue and Brook (who barely played this season and Jrue is streaky) weren’t dependable enough. The franchise, and star player, are loyal and compounding the issue is Holiday having his best regular season yet. If they get bounced early the questions will come though and this allows them to quickly reload around Giannis. Again, the most unlikely of trade scenarios but I wanted to go full Laker Tom here and not let logic get in the way.
There you have it. some of those could actually happen, although all of them feel farfetched to me on a pragmatic level. Still, it is the NBA and anything is possible. Early playoff exits beget big questions and uncomfortable situations and the Lakers need to be ready to pounce on those moments as best they can. Could some of these trades be outdone by other teams? Most certainly, but you never know what a franchise is willing to do to appease a star player (see Lakers, Los Angeles) or if a GM will make a trade happen from pressure. Anyhoo, some different things to talk about other than Wall, Hayward and the other popular topics these days. Enjoy.
Jamie, Jamie, Jamie. Russ and THT have to go. Period. Neither is a good fit for LeBron or AD. Get the best you can for both of them.
1. I do like the trade for Clarkson. He’s exactly what the Lakers need coming off the bench as a scorer.
2. I like Beasley but don’t think THT and Nunn will get him. He’s the kind of shooter we need though.
3. Don’t see any trade opportunities with Portland.
4. I would not trade for Kawhi Leonard out of principle.
5. LOL. That’s crazier than any trade I’ve ever proposed.
Easy to say, LT, harder to actualize. Like I said, I feel like these are all farfetched but the more likely trade scenarios are either just as unlikely (i.e: the walk off grand slam ones) or in most cases actually, somehow, make us worse. Wall or Hayward would in all likelihood be a worse deal than any of the above, except for maybe Kawhi who will seemingly be rehabbing his leg for a year every other year.
“5. LOL. That’s crazier than any trade I’ve ever proposed. ” Nah, the walk off grand slam trade is, in my opinion, way crazier. Hard to see any team blowing up that much cap space for three guys likely to walk in a season. Especially a small market team that will have a real hard time getting good value for said cap space. Especially when said small market team that’s not getting good value also doesn’t do rebuilds. Just too much uphill for that to work. Could it? Sure. Will it? Nah.
I’d actually throw both draft picks at the Milwaukee deal. Lopez checks all of the center boxes, even for you. Jrue is the perfect fit alongside LeBron and AD. Only way it could happen is if Milwaukee loses to the Bulls which isn’t likely to happen. Other than that I think they chalk it up to fatigue if they don’t make the conference finals and bad luck if the lose in the NBA finals. That’s an “all-in now” kind of trade but unlikely as all get out. Would take extraordinary circumstances for that to happen and would need Giannis to sign off on it, which also feels unlikely. Hence it’s title.
Hard to see that Portland deal happening, as well, but they are the one team I can see wanting to shed that much salary, honestly. If they trade Dame it’s a full tear down/rebuild. All of the money coming in walks after the season. No issue playing Russ since no Dame to compete with and he can go get his triple-double. Plus future picks to augment whatever they put together now. Also, THT and Reaves can mature at the same pace as other young guns a la the Pelicans.
The first two are my personal favorite THT and Nunn trades. I far prefer Clarkson to Buddy and he slots back into a starting 2 role. In all of the above scenarios I don’t see us keeping Malik. I think he gets an offer higher than what we’ll be able to muster and that’ll be that. This all also assumes we get a more offense-oriented coach to re-introduce “excitement” to the franchise but only because Rob traded away all the good defenders for streaky, poor defensive scorers.