Amid rumors that the Los Angeles Lakers have been attempting to trade Mo Bamba and Malik Beasley to teams over the course of the offseason, several trade destinations have been proposed for a pair of players they acquired midway through the 2022-23 season.
However, among their potential landing spots, the Chicago Bulls might be the safest bet.
Lakers center Mo Bamba has been linked to the Bulls, with Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times going on 670 The Score to say that Bamba would like to play for the famed franchise (h/t Daniel Greenberg). The Bulls are a franchise with financial incentive to make major changes to their roster, especially with a middling team that's expecting to be without Lonzo Ball for a second straight season.
Ball, a talented two-way playmaker, has $41.8 million remaining on his contract through 2024-25.
With that in mind, the Lakers could potentially acquire Andre Drummond and Carlik Jones by taking on Ball's contract for the next two seasons, trading Beasley and Bamba's expiring contracts to the Bulls in return.
Although it's unclear if they could use Ball's injury to request a Disabled Players Exception that would allow them to sign a player on a one-year contract up to $9.3 million, there could be an extra benefit to bringing Ball back as well. This isn't to say his experience and basketball IQ won't be useful even if he couldn't suit up.
Nonetheless, with rookie first-round choice Jalen Hood-Schifino and a re-signed D'Angelo Russell, the Lakers have a solid 1-2 punch at point guard. Carlik Jones averaged 29.0 points, 12.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game in a pair of G League appearances back in the 2021-22 season.
Drummond would return to L.A. as an exceptional rebounder and true center with the size they need against a player like two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
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