The Los Angeles Lakers have had an inconsistent season thus far. They are a 16-16 team right now and are the 7th seed in the Western Conference. There is no doubt that this isn’t what they envisioned after making a trade for Russell Westbrook this summer.
A way that the Los Angeles Lakers could potentially improve is with a trade. Shams Charania has recently reported that two players that are of particular interest to the Los Angeles Lakers are Ben Simmons and Jerami Grant. He added that the Lakers have been “active in the trade market” as a whole.
"I heard directly from Rich Paul that LeBron James isn't leaving the Lakers.. this team just doesn't look it has the young legs that they need to have & they have been very active in the trade market" ~@ShamsCharania#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/BZEAMM6Zkb
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 22, 2021
They made that trade for Russell Westbrook in the summer and it hasn’t just paid dividends,” This team doesn’t look like it has the young legs that they need to have. That’s why I’ve heard that they have been active in the trade market. When you look at a guy like Ben Simmons, they’d love to get their hands on a guy like him. Jerami Grant, those are the types of guys that they need on this team. Young, 6’9″, 6’10”, athletic wings, can handle the ball, can score, can pass. They need guys like that. They don’t have enough of them that have the youth, in their prime type of experience.
We’ll see if there is a way for the Los Angeles Lakers to acquire either player in a trade. Adding another versatile wing to their roster could be the move. While the Lakers do have a lot of talent on the roster, it is quite possible that it’s time to make a move based on fit.
Ben Simmons and Jerami Grant could both add some athleticism and defense to the Lakers’ roster on top of their offensive capabilities. In fact, the Lakers’ defense has been heavily criticized by fans this season. A trade could fix that, but also the Lakers need to perform better on that end as a whole. Regardless of whether a trade happens, the Los Angeles Lakers have things to work on, and hopefully, they start trending in the right direction.
