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Lakers Trade Rumors: Reviewing Latest Chatter on 2021 Deadline Day
March 25, 2021Lakers Trade Rumors: Reviewing Latest Chatter on 2021 Deadline Day
The buzzer sounds on NBA free agency at 3 p.m. Thursday, and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers figure to be busy as they attempt to fill out their roster in search of a second, consecutive title.
Guard is a key position in their hunt, with Kyle Lowry and George Hill among top targets.
Acquiring them may mean giving up pieces that were instrumental in last year's championships run, like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Ahead of Thursday's active afternoon, take a closer look at those three players and the prospects of them sporting purple and gold for the remainder of this season.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Part of Lakers Trade Talks
Appearing on ESPN's The Jump, Brian Windhorst reported the Lakers are willing to move guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Connected with the Caldwell-Pope talk is that the Lakers are unwilling to include a draft pick or Talen Horton-Tucker.
On a roster of aging players built for the here and now, Horton-Tucker is a young piece L.A. can mold and grow for the future. It makes sense that the team would be unwilling to let him go at this point.
As for Caldwell-Pope, his scoring has steadily decreased over the last three years despite fairly consistent playing time over that span. He does hit 40.1 percent of his three-point attempts, though, and that will appeal to potential suitors.
The question is whether the Lakers can give away a shooting guard that is sixth on the team in scoring when LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both sidelined with injuries and playoff positioning is key.
At $12 million, Caldwell-Pope's salary isn't one that will make a huge difference in the trade market, but coupled with another player, it could easily clear the way for the Lakers to land a big fish and put them over the proverbial hump as they pursue a championship repeat.
Is Kyle Lowry in the Team's Future?
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported during the network's Woj and Lowe Trade Deadline Special that the Lakers should not be ruled out of acquiring Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (h/t Christian Rivas of SB Nation).
"The Raptors, Masai Ujiri, Bobby Webster, their front office, they're going to work with Kyle Lowry and his agent Mark Bartelstein on where he might like to play if they're going to do a deal, but here's one team that don't rule out of this one between now and the trade deadline: The Lakers," Wojnarowski said.
It is no surprise that L.A. would be so interested in possibly trading for the veteran guard.
Lowry is two years removed from an NBA Championship in Toronto. He understands what it takes to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy and has averaged 17.1 points, 6.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game in the postseason for the Raptors.
Acquiring Lowry would not be cheap, though. To sign him, it would probably take offloading two or three players with Toronto, plus draft picks, to really make it worth the Raptors' time.
Either way, ESPN's Zach Lowe added to Woj's report (h/t The Philly Voice's Kyle Neubeck) that Lowry's situation will "go down all the way to the wire."
Lakers Inquire About George Hill
The Lakers, the cross-town rival Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers have reached out to Oklahoma City regarding veteran point guard George Hill, according to B/R's Jake Fischer.
"The Thunder's asking price appears clear. 'They're willing to [both] take back and trade salary for draft compensation,' one Western Conference official said," reported Fischer.
The report also stated that, though neither the Lakers nor Clippers have any first-round compensation to play around with, they are holding out hope that Oklahoma City agrees to a buyout with Hill. History, though, does not suggest that will be the case.
Hill is averaging 11.8 points on 26.4 minutes of floor time and is knocking down 50.8 percent of his shots from the floor. A veteran player, he has postseason experience and would serve as a perfect second option if the Lakers cannot land Lowry.