Lakers Rumors: Top Trade Gossip Approaching 2022 NBA Deadline

There isn't much time remaining for the Los Angeles Lakers to shake up their roster via trades. No NBA team can make deals after 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, when the trade deadline for the 2021-22 season arrives. So the Lakers may need to start working the phones.

Los Angeles is 26-28, which has it in ninth place in the Western Conference. If the season ended today, the Lakers would be in the play-in tournament and would have to improve drastically if they hoped to make a deep run through the postseason.

Many people expected Los Angeles to return to championship contention this term after it was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round last season. It went out and traded for point guard Russell Westbrook to form a big three with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which raised expectations even further.

However, things haven't worked out quite as expected for the Lakers, who have some tough decisions to make ahead of the trade deadline.

Is it possible that Los Angeles could trade Westbrook? The 33-year-old is averaging 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists in 54 games while shooting 43.7 percent from the field, but head coach Frank Vogel has benched him several times during key moments of games.

One NBA executive told Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com that Los Angeles may be ready to part ways with Westbrook already.

"It's obvious they're trying to move Westbrook, which is damn-near impossible," the executive told Bulpett. "They know that roster's just not working."

The reason it would be difficult for the Lakers to trade Westbrook is because of his huge contract. He's making $44.21 million this season, and then he has a $47.06 million player option for the 2022-23 campaign, per Spotrac. It will be difficult to find a trade partner that can fit that salary on to its payroll.

Another trade deadline possibility is the Lakers dealing Talen Horton-Tucker, who is one of their more valuable trade chips. The 21-year-old guard has a lot of potential, but perhaps Los Angeles would be open to moving him because it is in win-now mode.

But Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus recently discussed why it may also be difficult for the Lakers to trade Horton-Tucker ahead of the deadline.

"The whole Ben Simmons thing is complicated and is on Rich Paul's resume. Whether it's Ben who's doing what he's doing or it's Rich, the perception is, it's Klutch," Pincus recently said on the FnA Podcast. "Do you want to get in bed with Klutch Sports on a player who, if he blows up, you now need to overpay? That's what the Lakers are facing when it comes to trading [Horton-Tucker]."

So if Westbrook and Horton-Tucker both remain in Los Angeles, can the Lakers pull off any trades before Thursday's deadline? What other moves may they consider making?

Rumors surrounding Los Angeles are likely to continue to circulate right up until Thursday's deadline, and it will be fascinating to see what the Lakers end up doing (or not doing) before it arrives.