The Los Angeles Lakers are going to have some interesting decisions to make at the NBA trade deadline. They don't necessarily have a ton of options that they can't move and get back a big return, Unfortanelty for them, most of their players are on small salaries and also are later in their careers.
Not many teams are going to want to take a chance on guys that are over 30 years old, unless they feel like they can come in and make an immediate impact. They do have some options that they can think about trading but they're going to have to be smart about what they do.
Los Angeles could decide to trade some of their young guys like Talen Horton-Tucker, and potentially even Austin Reeves as crazy as it sounds. The reality of the situation is for this Lakers team is that they need to win a championship in the next few seasons before things become what Los Angeles fans aren't used to. The Lakers could potentially be in a very tough spot once LeBron James does decide to retire because they don't have many young guys on the roster. This could be the reason why they want to keep a guy like Horton-Tucker, or they might just accept that they are going to struggle for a bit after LeBron does leave and go out and try to win an NBA championship this season.
Let's take a look at three guys that the Lakers should think about trading in order to get their team exactly where they want to be to win an NBA title
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Lakers NBA trade deadline
3. Talen Horton-Tucker
This is an interesting name because many Lakers fans do like to overhype some of the things he can bring to the court. This doesn't necessarily mean that he's a bad player by any means, but he's certainly not as good as Lakers fans have made him out to be. This doesn't mean in a few years that he isn't going to be a very good player, but at the moment he is certainly not playing to what people are expecting of him.
The reality of the situation is that the Lakers don't really need young guys. The organization is going to be in a very tough situation once LeBron James decides to retire because they have no youth on their team besides Horton-Tucker, Austin Reeves, and a few others. They will not be in a good position and having one guy certainly won't help that. Los Angeles is currently in a must-win situation and there's no reason for them to keep somebody young who isn't performing to the way that they need. He is still only 21 years old and he does have some potential in this league so it does mean that he could get back a favorable return for the Lakers,
If Los Angeles can go out and get a guy like Jeremy Grant, or somebody else of that caliber for Horton-Tucker, they're going to have to make that move.
The only reason why they should think about trading this kid is because their organization is going to be in a very tough spot regardless. The Lakers have to win a championship in the next few seasons, before they have a complete revamp of the organization. They are the Los Angeles Lakers so it doesn't necessarily mean that they are going to be a bad team because as everybody knows, they will spend money better than anybody in the NBA to make sure that they have a contending team.
Deandre Jordan hasn't been bad at all this season with his minutes, but he isn't necessarily somebody that the Lakers need. They're going to get Anthony Davis back and they also have Dwight Howard. Many contending teams and some rebuilding teams are always looking for a guy who can come in and defend at the center position and also grab rebounds at a high level.
Jordan isn't necessarily going to get back any sort of big return, but he could be used in a trade to match salaries and that could help the Lakers try to find another piece who can come in and make an immediate impact for them.
1. Wayne Ellington
Wayne Ellington is another one who could be an interesting name because he hasn't necessarily been bad as well. He's averaging 6.4 points per game and has certainly been a nice little addition off the bench for the Lakers. The reality of the situation is that the Lakers are kind of loaded at the guard position and in the playoffs, they are only going to really be using Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk, and Avery Bradley. They aren't going to want to run a big rotation because they are going to need their top guys out there at all times.
If Wayne Ellington doesn't necessarily have a spot to play, Los Angeles does need to think about trading him because he is another guy who can be used to fill in a salary to go out and get that second guy paired in a trade with Talen Horton-Tucker.