The Trade The Lakers Should Make Before The Deadline

The NBA trade deadline is just a little over a month away (February 8) and it's no secret the Lakers are actively looking to trade one (maybe two) of their young, up and coming talents in the hopes to bring in a marquee star to Hollywood.  Here is one trade the Lakers should try to pull off as soon as possible.

Lakers Get:      Paul George and Jerami Grant from the Oklahoma City Thunder

Thunder Get:   Julius Randle and Luol Deng

Will the financials work?  Based on ESPN's NBA Trade Machine, the trade is financially feasible.

Why make the trade?

Paul George is currently a hired gun in Oklahoma City since being acquired from Indiana in an off season trade for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.  He has made it clear before being traded to the Thunder that he wanted to go home and play for his favorite childhood team, the Lakers and will be a Free Agent at season's end.  The Thunder organization run the risk of getting nothing back for George which will be a huge setback given Oladipo's success in Indiana.

The OKC Big 3 experiment hasn't panned out as expected.  The Thunder are quickly realizing that the trade for Carmelo Anthony has left glaring gaps in their team (rebounding, defense and bench production in particular) with minimal gains in offensive firepower given the Big 3's struggles to efficiently share the scoring load.

Given the issues around the OKC Big 3, Carmelo Anthony's time with the Thunder may be short lived as he may look to form a new Big 3 with "Banana Boat" buddy Chris Paul in Houston or join Lebron James wherever he decides to play next year.  The Thunder will be in need of a Power Forward to replace Anthony.  

Lakers Power Forward and sometimes small line-up Center, Julius Randle is a RFA in the offseason and is expected to receive lucrative offer sheets which many believe will be above his true value as a player which the Lakers won't be unwilling to pay.  Along with the backlog in PF's in the Lakers' roster, Randle has become the odd man out in the Lakers long term plans.

Randle's aggressive, attack the basket mentality can fit in well with Russell Westbrook's similar style of play.  Julius will be the recipient of numerous drop passes as Russell draws defenses and opens up attacking lanes and will address OKC team gaps (rebounding and post defense) made by the trade of Enes Kanter to the New York Knicks.  The Thunder will need to swallow Luol Deng's contract in this deal but with Paul George's departure, Deng is a decent fill-in at the Small Forward position since he is still a capable player and may contribute to better team balance.

Odd men out but both Deng and Grant will benefit from the change in teams

No doubt the Lakers will miss Julius Randle and his blossoming star level of play but given the team's roster of players, Julius is at a disadvantage given the limited number of minutes he can spend on the court to realize his full potential.  This trade, if executed, will be a win-win for both teams (and players) involved.

The NBA Stars Who Should Shine Bright In LA Next Year

The two stars the Lakers should bring in next year aren't named George or James.  The Lakers boast a talented young core that simply lacks a bona fide go-to-guy and championship experience.  Sure, these gaps can be filled by Paul George and Lebron James but it comes with a financial consequence that handicaps the organization from building a championship dynasty.  The two I'm about to reveal not only addresses the gaps but it will allow Magic and Rob flexibility to add more pieces to the Lakers Dynasty puzzle in seasons to come.

Player 1

Who: Marc Gasol

Why: He may not be the best center overall in the NBA but he's an upgrade to Brook Lopez.  He'll continue to put up all-star type numbers on a nightly basis with his consistent inside and outside offensive skills.  These skills will be further enhanced in Pick-and-Roll or Pick-and-Pop situations with Lonzo Ball.  He is a consistent defensive rebounder and provides enough defensive presence in the post to allow Laker guards to run over screens and play aggressive perimeter defense.

How: The Grizzlies are in limbo this season and may be looking at rebuilding next year which usually means getting younger.  Gasol will be 33 next season with one more year in his contract.  The Lakers should look to package a trade for Gasol involving Brook Lopez as a center for hire given his expiring contract and the very talented, very versatile and very young (23) Julius Randle.  As much as the Lakers want to keep Randle for all the obvious reasons, the team is stockpiled with Power Forwards and may end up overpaying for Randle's services if they re-sign him as a Restricted Free Agent (RFA).  The financials line up well and can be considered a win-win for both teams.

Player 2

Who: Klay Thompson

Why: Not only is Klay a perennial All-Star who has championship experience as a two time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors but he is also of championship pedigree because of his father Mychal Thompson who played with the Showtime Lakers.  Klay has proven to be a clutch performer and can be that go-to-guy the Lakers desperately seek.  He continues to be one of the best defenders in the league at the Shooting Guard position and is deadly from beyond the arc (46% this year, 42% career) which would not only fit well and thrive with Lonzo Ball's pass first mentality but it would create floor space for Brandon Ingram to penetrate and slash his way to the basket and eventually an All-Star ballot.  There would be little to no adjustment to know the offense or defense since the Lakers run the same system as Golden State.  This is due to Lakers Head Coach Luke Walton being a former assistant coach for the Warriors.  Did I forget to mention that Luke and Klay are close friends?

How: The Lakers should try to fashion an off-season trade by re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as the primary trade asset.  KCP will continue to provide the Warriors with All NBA defense at the SG position and a reliable third option scoring threat behind Steph and KD.  This would of course all hinge on Klay wanting to be traded since he is under contract till the 2018-19 season.  But we can't count out the lure of being the "main guy" on an up and coming team especially if that team happens to be your father's former team with the second most championships in NBA history.  Oh did I forget Klay's from Los Angeles?

This is all speculation and wishful thinking of course but it never hurts to dream.  Do you agree?  Do you see other players being a better fit for the Lakers?  Let me know and as always, thanks everybody!

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I Want The Lakers To Bring Two Stars To L.A. - But It's Not Who You Think

The master plan ever since the Magic Johnson - Rob Pelinka era started in L.A. was to create enough cap room to sign two (2) superstars in the summer of 2018.  Many believe the two stars heading to Hollywood are none other than Paul George (PG13) and Lebron James but I beg to differ. 

Based on the roster of young talent they have now, the Lakers will need two specific star players to become a legitimate contender.  Before I reveal those two players, here's why it shouldn't be Paul George and Lebron James.

Too Many Small Forwards. Brandon Ingram is one season away from becoming a star player and less than two seasons away from becoming an perennial all-star.  So far this season, Brandon has shown glimpses of greatness but has yet to string these glimpses into one continuous show.  He still needs to properly utilize his mid range game (Read More) but it will only be a matter of time when everything will finally come together. 

All this progress will come to a screeching halt if Paul George and Lebron James joins the Lakers.  Both superstars play the Small Forward (SF) position, same as Brandon who will most likely need to move to the bench and lose valuable playing time.  George has shown the ability to play Shooting Guard (SG) but he admittedly prefers to play SF.  The current system the Lakers run requires an effective 3PT shooter at SG.  PG13 is a good 3PT shooter (37.3%) but prefers attacking the basket on offense.  Lebron on the other hand can move to Power Forward (PF) to allow Ingram to stay in the starting line-up but the requirements of the position (rebounding, post-up defensive assignments, movement without the ball) in Walton's system is not a great match for Lebron's skillset.  Lastly, both PG13 and Lebron are suspect defenders outside the SF position where they excel.

Long Term Success Is Unsustainable. The Lakers will have $47 million in salary cap space to sign both Paul George and Lebron James.  Let's assume Rob is unable to move the remaining $36 million of Luol Deng's contract but Jeannie Buss approves going into luxury tax territory to sign the two megastars.  The Lakers would have a strong though poorly balanced starting line-up (assuming both stars accept their new roles) of Lonzo Ball (PG), Paul George (SG), Brandon Ingram (SF), Lebron James (PF) and Larry Nance, Jr. (C).  The bench would be composed of Jordan Clarkson (G), Josh Hart (G), and Kyle Kuzma (PF) with Ivica Zubac and Thomas Bryant seeing playing time depending on needed defensive match-ups.  This MIGHT be good enough (I highly doubt it) to challenge the Warriors and Rockets in the Western Conference but still falls short of rebuilding a championship franchise.  On top of that, they will be paying a huge luxury tax for the foreseeable future with little to no financial flexibility to sign let along re-sign quality players to help bolster the roster.  

The Lakers will be unable to re-sign quality players with James and George

I can list out other reasons why the Lakers shouldn't sign Paul George and Lebron James next season  but I would like to switch gears and talk about which two star players the Lakers should desperately try to bring in next season.  Not only did I consider player skill set and team financials/contracts but I tried to look at how these signings would impact their former teams for feasibility.

The Lakers should bring in these two star players next season.

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