Lakers Trade Rumors: Reviewing Latest Chatter on 2017 Deadline Day
The Los Angeles Lakers didn't land DeMarcus Cousins—and apparently they didn't want to, in a rather surprising turn of events for the storied franchise.
This development is just one of many twists for the team over the past 48 hours or so on the sprint to Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
In the blink of an eye, Earvin "Magic" Johnson took over as president of basketball operations and got right to work by shipping away talented scorer Lou Williams, In return, he got Corey Brewer and a coveted 2017 first-round pick, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
It's a forward-looking move, and so was the decision to bow out of the Cousins sweepstakes because talented youngster Brandon Ingram came up in the conversation, per Wojnarowski:
It was an impressive bit of self-control for an organization used to gunning for the best of the best and trying to compete all the time. Not only has Magic shown he's committed to the longer sort of rebuild around key draft pieces, ghosts of the past such as Dwight Howard probably remain fresh on the mind.
Next on the agenda seems to be an emphasis on dumping bad contracts and freeing up more floor space for guys like Ingram.
After all, Ingram has only received an average of 27.7 minutes per game this year while averaging eight points. It's more than young guys such as Julius Randle saw in recent years, but not good enough for a team clearly committed to its young core for the long haul.
To free up more room, a veteran such as Nick Young seems like he's on the chopping block next. ESPN.com's Arash Markazi made it clear the Lakers would take next to anything to move him:
To Young's credit, he really dug himself out of a hole this year and has been a noteworthy contributor. But he's still 31 years old and eating minutes while costing the team around $5 million per year, per Spotrac.
Not that this borderline refreshing approach to the market despite a major change in the front office means the Lakers won't pounce all over a franchise-altering opportunity if the price is right.
Paul George certainly falls under such a classification.
The Indiana Pacers might want to deal their superstar, and if George is truly on the market, it sounds like the Lakers will want the first bid.
According to Wojnarowski, the Pacers are looking at deals to improve the team that might entice George to sign an extension—while also fielding offers to ship him away. This best-of-both-worlds approach has the Lakers monitoring the situation.
USA Today's Sam Amick revealed Magic's interest: "The fact that the Lakers are in the process of trying to land George right now, with new lead executive Magic Johnson moving fast to fill that superstar hole that Kobe Bryant left behind, only makes these next two days all the more compelling."
George would change the Lakers the instant he arrives. He's 26, under contract until 2018 and averaging 22.2 points per game this year, less than a point shy of his career-best mark from the year prior. He's also shooting a career-best 44.6 percent from the field, not counting his rookie season.
As reporter Nate Jones pointed out, though, there may be a belief George could split when his contract expires if the Lakers aren't contending:
George hasn't been shy about this point in past, telling Marc Stein on ESPN Radio he wants to chase rings.
"Say what you want; I want to compete for something," George said. "It's frustrating just playing the game for stats or for numbers or to showcase yourself. Man, I want a chance to play for a chance to win a championship."
But the other side of the coin is George hailing from California. Out there, the Lakers are the crown jewel, at least from a historic standpoint.
It's hard to say what the Lakers would cough up in a trade for a hometown kid ready to put a franchise on his shoulders. But if Magic could swing keeping some key young pieces such as Randle and D'Angelo Russell, the core to compete in the Western Conference would look good on paper.
George is quite a different test for this new regime as opposed to the Cousins dilemma—a player known for on-court antics and expressing himself more than organizations might prefer.
Call it the all-telling hurdle for Magic and the front office in Los Angeles. So far, the moves have centered on shipping away older players with an eye toward the future, which will continue if the team can find an organization after a shooter like Young. But if Magic gets on the phone with Larry Bird, who knows?
At the least, the situation around the Lakers near the trade deadline is once again interesting. That in itself is a major victory for fans.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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