NBA Trade Rumors: There’s an expectation that the Los Angeles Lakers will land this star at some point via trade.
The Los Angeles Lakers are 3-10 and are in desperate need of a spark. And it’s unlikely that will come from anyone on the roster. No, it’s not going to come from Dennis Schroder or Thomas Bryant. If the Lakers are going to drastically change the trajectory of their season, it will likely have to be jumpstarted by an in-season trade.
And with Father Time hunting LeBron James down, the Lakers don’t have much time to spare. They need to be as aggressive as possible with the assets that they have on their roster – with their two eligible future first-round picks at the forefront of negotiations.
But, at least for now, there may not be a player that will drastically change things for the Lakers on the open market. Of course, that could change at any point. As we’ve seen in the past, all it takes is for one star to request out to make things interesting.
Who could that star be? Well, according to one recent report, there are some whispers that it could be Bradley Beal. He recently re-signed with the Washington Wizards but we still don’t know if that move was more about securing his money or if he is indeed committed to the Wizards.
Either way, there are some executives around the league that believe he’s eventually going to be traded to the Lakers.
How would a trade for Bradley Beal work?
First of all, Beal can’t be traded until January 15. That’s important. But it’s also not a deal breaker. Could the Lakers wait until the midway point of the season to make a move? Absolutely. Especially if they believe they can strike a move for Beal.
A move that could work theoretically could be something like Russell Westbrook, two first-round picks, and a couple of pick swaps in exchange for Bradley Beal and Rui Hachimura.
Essentially, the Wizards would be all-in on a rebuild and would also later try to find a trade for Kristaps Porzingis. The big question would revolve around whether the Wizards would ever get to that point this season.
Right now, the Wizards have gotten off to a solid start. They’re 8-6 and are a top 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. That may not be viewed as sustainable and the Lakers would essentially be betting on them falling apart over the next couple of months.
This is an interesting one. Perhaps this one we should take with a grain of salt until the Wizards actually get to a place where they have to make a decision regarding its future. But you know the Lakers will be lurking.