Lakers Trade Rumors: Hottest Reports Surrounding Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Lakers—unlike past marches to the trade deadline—have had an eventful few days. 

This isn't a case of tempered expectations, either. The Lakers have actually made some moves, in the front office and out.

In the past, the "instant gratification" ways of the organization made for disappointment over the last few seasons around the deadline, as the front office has been unwilling or unable to swing deals for major names.

But fans have slowly learned the Lakers don't want to build this way anymore. This line of thinking received some reinforcement recently when the team announced legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson would take over as president of basketball operations, ending the Mitch Kupchak era.

Johnson's first move? Reinforcing the idea the Lakers will play the waiting game, building around young stars and the future—he scooped up a 2017 first-round pick by trading away Lou Williams, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski:

"

The Rockets are sending Corey Brewer and a first-round pick to the Lakers for Lou Williams, league source tells @TheVertical.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 22, 2017"

If this is how fast Johnson will attack with this approach before Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline, fans can reasonably expect him to find a trade partner for Nick Young as well.

Young's trade market has been stuck in neutral for years. A man known as Swaggy P isn't easy to trade in the first place—and neither is a contract expiring after 2017-18 that pays him north of $5 million in cap hit per year, according to Spotrac. The 31-year-old Young has had a bounce-back campaign of sorts while averaging 13.8 points and shooting 44.1 percent from the floor, his best mark since 2010-11.

ESPN.com's Arash Markazi cited rumblings suggesting Johnson and the front office would take just about anything at this point:

What amounts to an expiring contract and solid production isn't the hardest sell in the world if the asking price is right.

This approach, furthered by Magic himself, doesn't mean the Lakers won't at least look to see what is out there, of course. 

For instance, the team flirted with the idea of DeMarcus Cousins before the Sacramento Kings shipped him to the New Orleans Pelicans.

In the past, this is a move the Lakers might have sold the farm for, with years of development going out the window in exchange for a bit of instant gratification, bumped fan interest and perhaps a way to lure bigger names to town in free agency.

Not this time. Per Wojnarowski, the Lakers valued Brandon Ingram and others too much:

Those skeptical have every right. But this wasn't a case of the Lakers shying away from a guy like Cousins because of his on-court battles with technical fouls and random outbursts—the Lakers really are all-in on their chosen rebuilding path.

Sports Illustrated's Jake Fischer seemed to confirm this by noting Ingram isn't coming up elsewhere in talks: "Several league sources also suggested the Lakers aren't offering Ingram as they chase other superstars (George and Butler) too."

There are two takeaways in the above nugget. One, the Lakers continue to sniff around guys like Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls and Paul George of the Indiana Pacers. Two, sniffing is just sniffing because deals for major superstars will require huge trade packages specifically centered around a future-looking piece like Ingram.

If the Lakers didn't cave and offer young guys like Ingram for Cousins, the game's best center, they aren't doing it for Butler or George. The asking price on Cousins wasn't too ridiculous in the first place, and he would have fit well next to Julius Randle.

Maybe now things settle around the Lakers a bit ahead of the deadline. But with a major change in the front office and a new first-round pick in hand, sticking to the plan doesn't look so terrible.

Even so, the reports will keep flying. Slight changes and a committal to the established process aside, the Lakers are still the Lakers—the rumor mill won't let them go that easily.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.