With the Los Angeles Lakers unable to make a deal with the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard, they have reportedly opened their minds to trading for some other all-stars instead. With the Spurs essentially wanting the entire Lakers young core plus future first round picks, it makes more sense for the Lakers to just wait until Leonard is a free agent next summer and sign him outright. The only problem with that plan is Paul George showed them they can’t bank on that. George was a free agent this summer and it was widely assumed he would sign with the Lakers, yet he didn’t even meet with them before resigning with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Perhaps it was that move that led them to realize they have other options to build their team around the newly acquired LeBron James and there are some big names in their sights. According to Chris Sheridan, “A number of trade options are being considered by Lakers executives Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, and names that are being bandied about include Damian Lillard, Kevin Love, DeMar DeRozan, Bradley Beal, and John Wall … among others.”
It’s interesting that the Lakers have their ears open for all the aforementioned players, even though LeBron James has made it clear he wanted to build something with the Lakers, which means he isn’t necessarily expecting big moves for his first year with the team. Of course, the news of other possible trades could simply be smoke to make the Spurs reconsider their asking price for Leonard, since they would like to get something in return, rather than seeing him just walk away next summer.
The most intriguing names on that list are Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal and John Wall. James is a fan of all three players and each of them would fill a role the Lakers could use. Beal would instantly be their best shooter and someone James can depend on for big shots. Lillard or Wall would also be someone James can depend on and any move to acquire either of them would likely mean sending Lonzo Ball elsewhere.
Only time will tell how serious the Lakers are about improving the roster for the upcoming season but at some point another major move will be required if they realistically want to compete with the Warriors, Rockets and other top teams in the Western Conference.
Written by @IamJoeSports
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