The Los Angeles Lakers have been a better team as of late, and they are getting closer to being a .500 team. They have a chance to make a run at the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and a trade could be worth it at this point in time.
There are a few reasons that the Los Angeles Lakers should make a win-now trade. It has been reported that Anthony Davis is ramping up to play, and having him back, along with some solid veterans, could make the Lakers a dangerous bottom-seeded team. The team is 5-1 over their last six games, notably winning five games in a row prior to their loss to the Denver Nuggets without LeBron James. There is no doubt that Anthony Davis and LeBron James have the experience to make a deep playoff run, and the key is simply making the playoffs.
Aside from the obvious basketball standpoint of making a trade, there are also some financial reasons for the Los Angeles Lakers to make a deal right now. Twitter account @NBAStatGuy_ has recently listed the current tradeable contracts on the Los Angeles Lakers which total $74.2 million. The Tweet also mentioned that if the Los Angeles Lakers let all of these contracts expire, they will lose around $58.5 million in “salary flexibility” as the total amount of salary they can trade for is $92.9 million, while the cap space they would have in this scenario in 2023 free agency totals $34.4 million.
LA current tradable contracts:
Russ 47.1M
Bev 13M
Lonnie 6.5M
Nunn 5.3M
Jones 2.3M
———
Total: 74.2M
Total salary LA can trade for: 92.9M
If no trades, their projected cap space will be: 34.4M
When they let current contracts expire, they lose 58.5M in salary flexibility.
Yay
— NBAStatGuy (@NBAStatGuy_) January 11, 2023
The screenshot below shows what is mentioned above in terms of the Los Angeles Lakers being able to take around $92.9 million in salary back if they were able to trade those contracts. This isn’t a realistic trade, obviously, but this does illustrate the original poster’s point. We have managed to get close to that $92.9 million, as the Knicks send out $92.3 million in salary here with the trade being a success.
Losing that much in salary flexibility could end up being a huge negative for the Los Angeles Lakers in regard to their ability to compete in the near future with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Let’s assume that the Los Angeles Lakers theoretically let all of these contracts expire and proceed to free agency with $34.4 million in cap space. Even if they were to sign a max-level player, that would leave little, if any, room for improvement to the rest of the roster. Even if they get two solid role players, for example, at around $17.2 million per year, that would not be enough depth around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Depth is extremely important in the NBA today, especially when building around older and injury-prone stars.
Even if they don’t use their tradeable draft picks in a deal, it could be in the Los Angeles Lakers’ best interests to make some sort of move with these assets to ensure that they are competitive in the next few years. Since the New Orleans Pelicans own some of their picks in the near future, as well as some swap rights, it makes sense for the Lakers to be as competitive as possible since they can’t really tank to get good prospects. Earlier in the season, some were even speculating that they would have to give Victor Wembanyama to the Pelicans because they were a poor team.
Obviously, the Los Angeles Lakers don’t have to trade every single one of these players. Lonnie Walker IV, for example, is a player that could be kept for the long run. There is a strong argument that he should get a new contract at the end of the season, and they could offer him the full mid-level extension of $9,718,000.
It’s more plausible than it was with Malik. If they operate above the cap this offseason, they can offer him a starting salary of $9,718,000. Basically someone would need to come in with the full MLE to top them. https://t.co/yA6dLK1Ya8
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) November 14, 2022
However, moving Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, and Kendrick Nunn could end up being the right move for the Los Angeles Lakers from a financial standpoint. It remains to be seen if a trade involving any of these players happens, but it makes sense to use their contracts in moves prior to them expiring at the end of the season.
Russell Westbrook has definitely been a solid locker-room presence this year, thriving in his new role as a sixth man for the team. But his contract could get the Los Angeles Lakers some solid pieces. It has been reported that the Los Angeles Lakers are waiting on stars such as Bradley Beal or Los Angeles Lakers to move their first-round picks, and Russell Westbrook could be a great salary-matching contract for the team in a star trade scenario due to his currently making $47,063,478 on his expiring deal. Moving him to a team trading its star would give that team salary relief and lets them avoid any long-term salary. There are a number of deals that make sense for the Los Angeles Lakers right now that involve Russell Westbrook’s contract.
Patrick Beverley is also on an expiring contract, and he is the fourth-largest contract on the Los Angeles Lakers as of right now. He could be packaged in a hypothetical deal to trade for a player like Kyle Kuzma, for example, and though he is still a good defender, the priority for the team should be to get more versatile players who can help LeBron James and Anthony Davis offensively.
Kendrick Nunn could end up getting moved if the right deal comes along. For example, it has recently been reported that the Los Angeles Lakers have trade interest in Cam Reddish, with the asking price being two second-round picks. Kendrick Nunn is the perfect player to send out here since his $5,250,000 contract lets the deal be seamless and easy from a financial standpoint. Basketball-wise, it could just make sense to move one of the team’s guards for an upgrade at the wing. The Lakers would also be able to sign Cam Reddish to a new long-term contract in the offseason since he will be a restricted free agent and they can match any deal he receives.
Overall, making some sort of deal is the optimal move for the Los Angeles Lakers. Even if they don’t end up moving Russell Westbrook or their future draft picks, it just makes sense to get some sort of long-term player in return for one or more of these expiring contracts. It will be interesting to see what the Los Angeles Lakers decide to do in the future, especially with the team playing much better as of late.
Credit For Idea: @NBAStatGuy_
