Against all advice, Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers have refused to make any trades this season. Even with the disappointing state of the roster, and injuries to several key players (including Anthony Davis), the front office has done nothing to make the team better and that may be how it goes until the offseason.
Admittedly, there isn’t much the Lakers can do. With so little to work with in the way of assets, there’s only so far their ambitions can go before they get unrealistic.
But in one deal proposed by NBA insider Rob Schaefer, the Lakers could get both Draymond Green and Nikola Vucevic for a pretty sweet price.
Warriors receive: Zach LaVine, Alex Caruso
Lakers receive: Nikola Vucevic, Draymond Green
Bulls receive: Russell Westbrook, James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Max Christie | Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick, Lakers’ 2027 second-round pick; next two tradable Warriors’ first-round picks
At the cost of Green, Wiseman, Kuminga, Moody and two first-round picks, the Warriors add an elite shooter and slasher on the wing, plus an All-Defense caliber guard.
The Lakers use Westbrook’s mammoth expiring contract, Christie, and a far-off first to fortify their frontcourt twice over with a center who can reliably create offense for himself and others, and a forward who can still anchor a championship-caliber defense.
And the Bulls smash the rebuild button by adding three future first-round picks, a bushel of prospects of varying intrigue and a massive expiring deal to wash their books clean.
For the Warriors who have also struggled this season, the crux of their issues revolves around their young guys, who clearly need more time to develop. In this scenario, they’d be giving up some of those unproven young guys for some more consistency and defense with LaVine and Caruso.
Draymond Green And Nikola Vucevic Could Make The Lakers A Playoff Team Again
For the Lakers is where things get really interesting. We already know that L.A. has been, so far, unwilling to include their picks — but it might be worth a second thought if they could net a return of Draymond Green and Vuc to help LeBron close his career.
Really it’s a win for all sides, including the Bulls who could start their rebuild with a haul of picks and young players (and Westbrook’s expiring contract).
Of course, this trade remains an unlikelihood for now, but don’t be surprised if these teams engage each other at some point before the deadline.
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