Lakers Rumors: Updated Trade Buzz After 2017 NBA Draft Lottery
Those weren't Santa Ana winds sweeping across Southern California on Tuesday evening during the 2017 NBA draft lottery. Rather, it was the collective exhale of Los Angeles Lakers fans as the franchise was able to avoid the specter of the Steve Nash trade and retain their first-round pick this year, landing the No. 2 spot in the draft.
It's the team's third consecutive pick at the No. 2 spot, and it has the Lakers in position to yet again add a talented player to a young squad looking to break out of the Western Conference cellar. Elite prospects such as Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, De'Aaron Fox, Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum could all get long looks from the Lakers, and one of them is essentially guaranteed to don the purple and gold.
That is, of course, unless the Lakers trade away the pick. Landing such a lofty spot in the draft immediately set off a spate of trade rumors for the franchise, with the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli reporting the team will take a look at available trade packages:
You can guarantee at least a few teams will send out feelers to Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, especially since the Lakers do have another first-round pick at No. 28. One possibility would be swinging a trade with the ailing Indiana Pacers for Paul George. The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears laid out a case for this scenario:
"It's a safe bet that George won't cry about becoming a Laker now, and he would be widely expected to re-sign. George told Kimmel this week that he loves Los Angeles, grew up a Lakers fan and plans to work out with Kobe Bryant this summer.
It's a no-brainer for the Lakers to make a move for the four-time NBA All-Star, who could be their representative during the 2018 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles."
As tempting as it is to bring George into the fold right away, the fact that he is a free agent next year and has long been rumored to have his sights set on Tinseltown in a way argues against trading the No. 2 pick for him. George only just turned 27 years old, meaning he will still be in his prime by next offseason. If the Lakers signed him then, they likely wouldn't have to worry about diminishing returns for at least a few seasons.
Plus, adding a young player from this supremely talented crop might only further improve the Lakers in the eyes of George and other free agents, making him more likely to sign in 2018. There's always a chance he goes elsewhere on the open market in 2018, but if the Lakers trade for him now, don't get him to re-sign and things turn sour, he could leave them hanging anyway.
If the Lakers are going to trade the pick, they might hope another team offers a sweet package featuring a veteran star, then hope to put all the pieces together in 2018.
The draft lottery on Tuesday sparked a separate trade rumor for the Lakers. According to SI.com's Jake Fischer, "multiple NBA teams are evaluating trade packages for D'Angelo Russell."
Russell was a No. 2 pick himself all but two years ago and averaged 15.6 points (35.2 percent from downtown) and 4.8 assists per game in his sophomore season.
Seen as one of the building blocks of the Lakers franchise along with Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram, teams looking to make a move for him must be getting a sense that the Lakers will draft a guard this year.
The obvious name that comes to the forefront is Ball, the silky signal-caller out of UCLA. Ball has a gift for distributing the basketball and has great size at the point; he could be a more natural point guard than Russell and a better playmaker overall. Plus, his father, LaVar, is trying to single-handedly will his son donning a Lakers jersey into existence.
The Lakers' setting their sights on Ball could give them reason to trade Russell, as his youth and potential would be attractive to many teams. The two might be able to share a backcourt if Russell slides over to the 2-guard, but that could be a disastrous pairing on the defensive end.
Russell is already known as a slow-footed defender, and CBSSports.com' Colin Ward-Henninger had this to say about Ball's defense: "This last one is harder to quantify, but let's just call it what it is: Ball is a terrible one-on-one defender. UCLA has done a great job hiding him with zones and by switching nearly everything when in man-to-man, but when Ball gets isolated against a scoring guard, it's not pretty."
If Ball's outrageously outspoken father somehow manages to scare off the Lakers, there are plenty of other guards for the team to take, such as Fox. The forward prospects like Jackson and Tatum seem less appealing considering the Lakers already have Ingram and could be banking on George. So, it's a fairly good bet the Lakers draft a guard if they don't trade the pick.
Russell may indeed be surplus to requirements if that all pans out. If that is the case, the team should be able to swing a deal for him that brings veteran talent into the fold. Russell is still on his rookie contract and has shown flashes of brilliance, including a 40-point game against the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers this season.
Of course, it's that same explosive potential that might keep him in Los Angeles as the team builds toward a brighter future.
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