5 Possible Trade Targets for Los Angeles Lakers to Gamble on This Season
The Los Angeles Lakers need to improve their roster, but sure bets in the NBA are few and far between. That said, there are always gambles to be considered as the trading season heats up.
The first question, of course, is what the Lakers have of value for other teams.
There are some assets in L.A., including expiring contracts, useful role players and future draft picks.
As Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times writes, Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin and Wesley Johnson have no trade restrictions, while Jordan Hill “cannot be traded until Jan. 15” due to intricacies of the collective bargaining agreement and the raise he received in his new contract.
Meanwhile, Carlos Boozer cannot be sent packing because he was acquired via amnesty waivers.
Julius Randle, on the other hand, could be a very enticing prospect for a rebuilding team.
As for potential targets, the Lakers need help across the board, including a starting point guard, a dependable wing and a frontcourt player with an appetite for defense.
Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns
1 of 5
The Lakers could use another point guard. The Phoenix Suns have a surplus of them.
Phoenix spent big in September, signing Eric Bledsoe to a five-year extension worth $70 million. They also acquired Isaiah Thomas from the Sacramento Kings this summer on a four-year, $27 million sign-and-trade.
That could ultimately leave Goran Dragic as the odd man out. The league's reigning Most Improved Player can exercise his option for $7.5 million next summer but is expected to opt out for free agency instead, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News.
The Slovenian speedster is also dealing with reduced minutes and production, as well as a team sputtering to a 13-14 record.
Per Paul Coro of AZ Central, Dragic’s response for why things aren’t clicking is simple: "Because there's only one ball, and we're all point guards. That's an easy answer.”
It’s questionable whether the Suns would pay a premium to continue the three-PG experiment next season, leaving the alternative of trading Dragic before the February deadline.
The 6’3” guard has often played off-ball this season but is at his best when pushing the pace with the rock in his hands.
Whether he would thrive in Byron Scott’s Princeton-based offense remains to be seen. There is also the challenge of putting together a deal Phoenix would accept, not to mention persuading Dragic to stay beyond the current season.
But this is a gamble L.A. would take in a heartbeat.
Brook Lopez, Brooklyn Nets
2 of 5
Back in July, 2012, when the Brooklyn Nets were spending big, Brook Lopez was awarded a four-year, $60 million contract.
The 7-foot center was coming off an injury-plagued season where he had played only five games with foot and ankle problems, which included having a surgical procedure known as a first metatarsal osteotomy. Lopez has had three surgeries on his right foot, and as explained by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, has faced the same issues that derailed Yao Ming’s career.
The Nets were willing to gamble to keep one of the league’s top young big men. Two years later, they appear to be rethinking their strategy. According to Marc Stein and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com, Lopez is one of three Nets on the block—the others being Deron Williams and Joe Johnson.
Should the Lakers be interested in Lopez, who has dealt with a back injury recently and also had back surgery in college? Moreover, is he worth the balance of his $15.7 million this season and the $16.7 million that he’ll certainly choose with next year’s player option?
Lopez is averaging 16.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks through 16 games this season, while Lakers starting center Jordan Hill is collecting 12.8 points, 8.6 boards and one block through 25 games. At $9 million per year, Hill costs far less on a short-term deal and is a more athletic defender. On the other hand, Lopez is a much more potent scorer.
But what if L.A. could have them both—switching Hill back over to the power forward slot? That would be a lethal two-headed monster in the frontcourt. Plus, Julius Randle would join the party next season.
Josh Smith, Detroit Pistons
3 of 5
The Lakers could clearly use a defensive stopper on their squad.
Enter Josh Smith of the Detroit Pistons, an elite shot-blocker and athletic beast.
Now in his 11th NBA season, the combo forward is averaging 13.5 points, 7.5 boards, 4.7 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.2 steals through 25 starts.
But as good as he can be, Smith has always had the propensity to chuck up some of the most ill-advised shots imaginable. This season, he’s averaging the lowest overall field-goal percentage of his career at 39 percent, with an abysmal 26 percent from long range.
That said, he has scored in double figures in 20 out of 26 games this season and has 44 blocks as well.
By comparison, Ed Davis has 29 blocks, Hill has 24, Wesley Johnson 22 and Carlos Boozer just three.
Money can also be an issue, however. The 6’9” lefty is owed $13.5 million per year through the 2016-17 season.
Per Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, the Pistons want to unload that contract, as well as that of Brandon Jennings: “New Pistons president Stan Van Gundy needs to trade one or both of these guys if he wants to preserve the sanity of new Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. Both are firmly on the block, per rival executives.”
The Lakers are not looking to take on expensive long-term contracts.
But they could certainly use the kind of one-on-one lockdown defense that Smith is still capable of bringing.
Brandon Jennings, Detroit Pistons
4 of 5
Los Angeles could sorely use a dependable point guard. Brandon Jennings is a point guard—so half the puzzle is already solved!
Per the earlier Howard Beck report, the Pistons are looking to move the 25-year-old speedster, who was born and raised in Compton, California.
He’s a left-handed volume shooter, a flashy ball-handler and has never lacked for self-confidence. He's also an unrepentant ball hog, has failed to fully exploit his point guard skills and has never had more than a 42 percent field-goal average.
But despite his reputation for being selfish with the ball, Jennings has 6.2 assists per game this season—more than anyone on the Lakers squad. And last season, he averaged 7.6, which was good for seventh in the league.
He is also an unabashed Kobe fan, engaging in a self-propelled Twitter debate over the merits of the Mamba versus Michael Jordan. For the record, Jennings says “Kobe is the Goat [sic].”
Jennings has never lacked talent, but an absence of consistency and an obsession for slinging up highly doubtful three-pointers has always dogged his reputation.
Recently, Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver released his annual All-Atrocious Team, and the 6’1” guard was on it:
"For all his flair and occasional flashes, Jennings has evolved into a very reliable loser: he can shoot his teams out of games (37.6 percent this season, his fifth time in six years under 40 percent), he is a defensive liability at his position (he ranks No. 72 out of 80 points guards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus), and he wasted no time this season publicly bickering with new coach Stan Van Gundy over his role.
"
Boozer, by the way, also made Golliver’s list.
At $8 million per year through next season, Jennings would definitely be a gamble. But would he concentrate on facilitating for Bryant—his longtime idol?
It’s certainly possible.
Noah Vonleh, Charlotte Hornets
5 of 5
Remember Noah Vonleh? The power forward out of Indiana had a ton of heat going into the draft.
At 6’10” with a 7’4” wingspan, Vonleh was just 18 years old at the time. A two-way player with a knack for rebounding and shot-blocking, Vonleh has the ability to stretch the floor as a shooter.
But on draft night, he slipped to the Charlotte Hornets at No. 9, prompting Zach Harper of CBSSports.com to observe:
"This is a bit of a steal for the Hornets, grabbing a very talented big man who was projected to go as high as 3 or 4 in some mock drafts. He's been compared to Chris Bosh in terms of a mobile big man with a 3-point shot, and capable of defending the pick-and-roll along with the interior. Vonleh joins an up and coming Hornets team that made the playoffs last season.
"
And then the bottom fell out.
Vonleh suffered a hernia injury that required surgery at the end of the summer. Since being cleared for action in November, he’s appeared just three times, averaging 2.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in eight minutes per game.
Buried behind Cody Zeller, Al Jefferson, Marvin Williams and even longtime utility big Jason Maxiell, the rookie is anything but a sensation.
Will Vonleh wind up being the quintessential draft bust, or is Charlotte just developing him slowly?
Perhaps the Lakers should make some inquiries about the guy who was once compared to Bosh.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
