Lakers Rumors: Updates on the Latest Speculation

We are now just 17 days away from the NBA trade deadline and the rumor mill is really going to start heating up.

For the most part my general advice on trade rumors is exercise caution with them until they become confirmed trades. 

There's little question the Lakers are the most popular team in the NBA and they are also in the second largest city in the country and oh yeah, they are the single most successful franchise in all of American sports for the last half century.

As a result they are something of a lightening rod when it comes to rumors. Of course you're going to want to follow the rumors, but it helps to have some discretion in knowing what is and isn't worth following. 

Here's the latest scuttlebutt and the likelihood that the various rumors are true. 

Translated that means, "There's a very interesting rumor about LAL. Kobe Bryant could have asked the team to remove his no-trade clause of his contract." If you're wondering if there is any weight to this, the answer is highly, highly improbably. 

Jeremy Lin has a better chance to win MVP than Kobe Bryant does to be traded. Even if Kobe did ask for that to happen, his $25 million contract makes him completely untradeable. 

Another rumor exists which says, 

"

The scuttlebutt is that the Magic would send Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson to the Lakers and the Magic would receive Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. A third team, the Toronto Raptors, could be part of the deal or in a separate trade with the Magic, sending point guard José Calderon to Orlando. Magic CEO Alex Martins told the Sentinel the rumor is wrong. 

"

The operative part to pay attention to here is the last sentence, which is why I italicized it.

One thing that doesn't seem like a bogus rumor, but at the same time isn't going anywhere is the idea that the Lakers offered up Andrew Bynum straight up for Dwight Howard.

According to Peter Vecsey of the New York Post, one Western Conference executive said, “I can tell you for a fact the Lakers offered Andrew Bynum and the Magic do not want him,” said a Western Conference executive.”

The one rumor I hear about and at least sounds reasonable in terms of the two teams getting back even value is the Lakers/Celtics deal Vecsey brings up in the same article.

"

If the Lakers indeed are interested in signing Rasheed Wallace—a logical step-down from flirting with Gilbert Arenas—it lends credence to the Rajon Rondo/Jermaine O’Neal-Pau Gasol swap I keep hearing. Lord knows they’re desperate for a point guard and Rondo is exceedingly obtainable and Kobe Bryant loves his “any means possible” style.

"

The one issue that raises for the Lakers is whether they have, apart from Bryant, a team that is athletic enough to be properly utilized by Rondo. It's a bit like giving a sniper a crossbow. You're limiting what he can do by providing limited weapons for him.

Overall Lakers fans need to lower expectations. Huge contracts actually lower a player's value. One example is is Carlos Boozer for Pau Gasol. Granted Pau Gasol is a better player, but they aren't making equal money. That makes a difference. 

Not only would Chicago have to part with a second player to obtain Gasol, they can't replace that extra player because of the money that Gasol is owed. 

It's going to be hard for the Lakers to get back a player of equal value. If they can get the Rondo deal done they should be all over that. They aren't going to get more than that.