NBA Trade Rumors: Why Raymond Felton to the Lakers Won't Happen

The Los Angeles Lakers are rumored to be targeting Portland Trail Blazer point guard Raymond Felton as a potential trade-deadline acquisition.

Felton to the Lakers makes a lot of sense. But it won't happen.

L.A. is one of the few teams in the NBA with a worse situation at point guard than Portland. Derek Fisher was the NBA’s MVP in the offseason. The 15-year vet deserves big-time credit for his huge assist in making sure there was a regular season.

But his play during that season hasn’t been great. In fact it really hasn’t been good. He’s averaging 5.5 points per game on 37 percent shooting. At 3.4 assists and 1.2 turnovers a game, he is not an effective starting point guard.

Felton, on the other hand, has struggled in Portland but has potential to recover his game in L.A. His numbers this year are well below his career average and in the right system they could rise.

The Lakers are also allegedly interested in picking up Michael Beasley from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers could make two separate deals or try for a three-way trade with the Wolves and Blazers.

The problem for the Lakers is a lack of movable parts.

Almost all of L.A.’s salary is tied up in Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Gasol is the most likely of that group to be traded. That means Portland or Minnesota would have to take on his roughly $19 million-a-year deal.

Here’s the trade that makes the most sense both financially and for the teams involved: Minnesota gets rid of Michael Beasley, Luke Ridnour and a conditional draft pick. In return, the Wolves get Pau Gasol.

The Lakers give up Gasol and in return get the two guys they were targeting, Felton and Beasley.

The Blazers part ways with Felton. They pick up Ridnour and the Wolves’ draft pick.

Minnesota has a good, young nucleus built around Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. That makes Ridnour and Beasley expendable parts. Tossing a veteran center like Gasol into the mix makes them a safe bet for making a run to the playoffs in 2012-13.

Portland still does not cure all of its problems at the point guard position. Ridnour’s numbers are decent (11.3 PPG, 3.7 APG, 1.5 TOPG, 45.1 percent from the field, 33 percent on threes). He would be an improvement over Jamal Crawford at the point guard position but still not a top-tier talent.

Los Angeles makes out like bandits in this scenario. The Lakers dump a huge salary and get their two rumored top targets.

For Portland to give its biggest rival a helping hand, the Blazers would need to receive much more in return.

Swapping Felton for Ridnour frees up a couple million dollars for Portland, but that money is not enough to make this deal happen.

Likewise, an aging Gasol is not worth the high price tag he comes with. Gasol and Love would become one of the most versatile and effective big-man tandems in the game, but it would be too taxing on Minnesota’s checkbook.