Lakers Rumors: Latest Trade Reports Before 2018 NBA Draft Lottery
The NBA playoffs are still in full swing, but for the fifth year in a row, mid-May means it's the offseason for the storied Los Angeles Lakers.
And although they've whiffed on plenty of free agents and trade targets recently, there's reason for Lakers fans to feel optimistic this summer.
Lonzo Ball trailed only Ben Simmons in rookie box plus-minus (a catch-all metric that estimates a player's impact above or below an average player's), per Basketball Reference. Julius Randle averaged 18.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 49 starts. Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson and Jerry West are the only rookies in Lakers history who had a higher scoring average than Kyle Kuzma's 16.1. And from January 26 to the end of the season, Brandon Ingram averaged 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
The oldest of those four, Randle, is just 23.
That's the kind of core that has the potential to do two things: attract free agents or net a star in a trade. Assistant general manager Jesse Buss talked about the possibilities with Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus.
"There are so many ways we can use that [cap] space," Buss said. "We can absorb an expiring contract and get a draft pick out of it. We can acquire a player [through trading] who will help us immediately next season. We can sign big-time guys and be right there and have the future in the palm of our hands."
Besides Paul George and LeBron James, whose connections to the Lakers have been analyzed ad nauseam, who are some of the guys that may be headed to the Purple and Gold this summer?
Kawhi Leonard is an obvious target. And there's some debate over whether the Lakers should even pursue a deal. After all, if the L.A. native will sign with the Lakers as a free agent in 2019, why give up good young players for him a year earlier?
"It's commonly heard on the front-office grapevine that Leonard is eyeing the Lakers as a free agent in 2019," Bleacher Report's Ken Berger wrote. "One of the Western Conference executives noted it's no accident that the Lakers reportedly have shifted their free-agent plans to focus on the '19 class (which Leonard may headline), according to Shelburne and ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, as opposed to a quick fix this summer."
There's at least some risk in the wait-and-see approach, though. Can the San Antonio Spurs sooth Leonard's ruffled feathers? Will some other team pull off a trade, then convince Leonard to stay over the course of the next year?
And a benefit of adding Leonard now would give L.A. his Bird rights, meaning it can go over the salary cap to re-sign him next summer.
If the Lakers have the chance to add him now, they'll have to think about going for it. And there's some indication they might.
"I would say that's the most likely thing," a general manager told Sean Deveney of Sporting News. "He's going to be their target any way you look at it, this summer or next summer. There's not many other ways to explain what's been going on with that situation other than him trying to get out of San Antonio."
It would sting a bit if it cost the Lakers a couple of those potential stars and some draft picks, but a healthy Leonard is a top-five or top-10 player in the NBA. That in combination with the rest of the young core could put the Lakers back on track to contention.
Abudushalamu Abudurexiti
Who?
Thanks to Michael Scotto of The Athletic, NBA fans have suddenly been made aware of Abudushalamu Abudurexiti, a 6'8", 22-year-old forward from China who recently worked out for eight teams, including the Lakers.
Abudurexiti's being billed as something of a point forward, with good size and range for his position. He compared himself to Joe Ingles in the Scotto piece. Ingles finished fourth among small forwards in ESPN's real plus-minus last season and 10th in 2016-17.
It's not easy to see Abudurexiti's path to that level. He's already 22, which is fairly old for NBA draftees these days. And in his third season in the Chinese Basketball Association, he averaged 6.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists, with a 49.1 field-goal percentage and a 32.9 three-point percentage. For context's sake, Jimmer Fredette, who was drafted 10th overall in 2011, has averaged 37.2 points over the last two seasons in the CBA.
Maybe there's something a good developmental staff can still get out of Abudurexiti, but he's certainly not a sure thing.
LiAngelo Ball
What would a Lakers' rumors piece be without a little something on the Balls?
Ball Brother No. 2, LiAngelo, declared for the draft back in March. And more recently, he expressed a desire to wind up with the Lakers on ESPN LA 710 (h/t Lakers Nation's Trevor Lane):
"Lakers is my priority, for sure. I want to play with my brother. Ever since I played with Zo, we went undefeated. Same thing will happen when we get older. We're just going to get stronger and faster and better feel for the game. It will be a good outcome. ... I'm willing to play for other teams. That's fine if they pick me. My priority is the Lakers. I just want to play with my brother."
Like Abudurexiti, Ball's numbers overseas won't knock your socks off, but his are at least somewhat intriguing. He averaged 12.9 points and 2.5 threes, with a 40.7 three-point percentage, in 15 games. But the league in Lithuania is far from Europe's best.
You'd be hard-pressed to find Ball in a reputable mock draft anywhere on the internet, so it's tough to imagine the Lakers taking even a second-round flier on him.
Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference or RealGM.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@AndrewDBailey) and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by B/R's Dan Favale.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
