<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Pelicans-Kings-Buddy-Hield-Zion-Williamson.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rumors: Pelicans trying to get in on Buddy Hield trade talks to help Zion Williamson</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-08-10T07:41:12-07:00">August 10th, 7:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-08-10T07:41:12-07:00">August 10th, 7:41am</time><address><a>Mitchell Widmeier</a>Mitch is a play-by-play broadcaster and writer in Minneapolis who enjoys every aspect of sports, whether it's announcing, writing, or watching. He started his career as Sports Director of a two-cluster station in Minnesota where he had his own sports talk show. He has since branched out into all aspects of sports media.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans seem to have one goal in mind over the course of the next couple of years and it’s quite simple: keep Zion Williamson happy.</p><p>This offseason the Pelicans let Lonzo Ball slip to the Chicago Bulls without even a whisper of New Orleans trying to bring him back. They have a new head coach in Willie Green after the Stan Van Gundy hire didn’t seem to work out for either side after just one season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-new-orleans-latest-move-hiring-mike-dantoni-thrill-zion-williamson/">There are a lot of moving parts for a franchise</a> trying to show stability for their young superstar.</p><p>Now, it appears they are trying to add Buddy Hield via a sign-and-trade with the Sacramento Kings. The problem the Pelicans may run into though, is what else they could send besides Josh Hart. <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2947075-inside-chicago-bulls-85-million-demar-derozan-deal-and-markkanen-freeze-out">Via, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>, New Orleans is going over its options.</p><blockquote>New Orleans and Sacramento were said to be discussing a Buddy Hield-for-Josh Hart sign-and-trade baked into the Pelicans’ draft-week deal with Memphis, although it’s unclear if that dynamic remains plausible as Hart is still unsigned.</blockquote><p>The language here is important as Fischer notes they, “were said to be discussing.” The past tense could lead some to believe that those talks have died off between the Kings and Pelicans.</p><p>Hield would be a nice add as a sharp-shooting guard who has seemingly been brought up in trade talks for two years now. The problem is Hield likely doesn’t move the needle a whole heck of a lot for the Pelicans.</p><p>Even though Zion hasn’t made a fuss or mentioned he’s upset with the direction of the franchise, everyone else has been bringing it up as though it’s some sort of foregone conclusion. We’ll see what the next move for the Pelicans is.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rumors: Pelicans trying to get in on Buddy Hield trade talks to help Zion Williamson

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/buddy-hield-lakers-dennis-schroder-knicks-wizards-kings-bulls.jpeg"></figure><h1>Lakers still trying to trade Dennis Schroder for Buddy Hield</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-08-02T13:45:20-07:00">August 2nd, 1:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-08-02T13:48:13-07:00">August 2nd, 1:48pm</time><address><a>Michael Corvo</a>Los Angeles Lakers beat reporter and writer for ClutchPoints. Aspiring Shane Falco. NYC native, LA resident, USC grad. Tennis Fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/los-angeles-lakers/news">Los Angeles Lakers</a> want to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/los-angeles-lakers-2021-free-agency-preview/">sign-and-trade</a> Dennis Schroder rather than lose him for nothing. However, that could be tricky as league-wide interest in Schroder is lukewarm and any swap would require the participation of Schroder.</p><p>Shortly before the free agency moratorium is lifted, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2946741-nba-free-agency-intel-latest-on-dennis-schroder-and-lonzo-ball-sign-and-trade?fbclid=IwAR1f_I6_NIn6OJQ_qBkkBWNkV1XeqwgZqy2v6l7oSUrKeEuo3WtPA-WwgJ0">Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer</a> offered insight into trade talks surrounding the 27-year old point guard. (Schroder, infamously, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-rumors-dennis-schroder-turned-down-4-year-84-million-extension/">turned down an $84 million extension</a> from Los Angeles last season, only to see his value decline since.)</p><p>Fortunately for Schroder, four active teams on the market need a point guard: the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/chicago-bulls/news">Chicago Bulls</a>, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/new-york-knicks/news">New York Knicks</a>, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/new-orleans-pelicans/news">New Orleans Pelicans</a>, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/washington-wizards/news">Washington Wizards</a>. The Lakers agreed to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/the-winners-and-losers-of-the-russell-westbrook-to-lakers-trade/">blockbuster</a> with the Wizards last week that will send <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/russell-westbrook/b3770983">Russell Westbrook</a> to L.A., though the deal cannot be formalized until Aug. 6.</p><p>Per Fischer, the Bulls’ Plan A is signing restricted free agent Lonzo Ball to a four-year, $80 million deal, though there are contingency plans in place, including Schroder. Should the Pelicans free money via a Lonzo sign-and-trade, they could pursue Schroder.</p><p>The Knicks might be the most logical destination for Schroder. But, with roughly $50 million in cap space, they would have little incentive to help the Lakers and trade something back for him (likely an exception for a second-round pick).</p><p>The Wizards have interest in Schroder, too, leaving open the possibility of an expansion to the Westbrook deal, which could redirect Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, or Montrezl Harrell elsewhere. Because the Wizards are over the cap, they would require a sign-and-trade to land Schroder — a far better scenario from a Lakers’ perspective.</p><p>Furthermore, the Lakers have “not ended their search for ways to land” Sacramento Kings’ sharpshooter Buddy Hield, per Fischer. Los Angeles <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-trade-rumors-lakers-buddy-hield-were-close-to-deal-before-russell-westbrook-trade/">nearly executed a trade</a> for Hield on draft day involving Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell rather than Schroder, whom the Kings have no interest in, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6uJYPg3RuBz1CZYaNzGTCe">per ESPN’s Zach Lowe</a>. Perhaps Pelinka can include more teams and the 2027 first-round pick.</p><p>One potential obstacle of a Schroder sign-and-trade is it requires the participation of Schroder, who openly spoke about his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-dennis-schroder-may-take-bold-risk-ahead-of-much-hyped-free-agency/">desire to test unrestricted free agency</a> throughout the season. According to Fischer, Schroder’s camp and the Lakers have “not been in extensive contact” and “do not seem to be working in tandem.” That’s not promising.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers still trying to trade Dennis Schroder for Buddy Hield

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/image_2021-08-02_004703.png"></figure><h1>The reason Lakers’ hopes for Buddy Hield trade are all but dead</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-08-01T10:03:56-07:00">August 1st, 10:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-08-01T10:03:56-07:00">August 1st, 10:03am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/@rpsalao">R.P. Salao</a>Check out my best stuff on Medium - medium.com/@rpsalao.I also post quality NBA YouTube content - tinyurl.com/SalaoYouTube.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers have their Big 3 in place after the blockbuster deal for Russell Westbrook. But now it’s time to round out the rest of the roster.</p><p>With over $120 million in salary tied to the trio of Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, there isn’t exactly plenty of room to find talent worth more than the minimum. But as experts have pointed out, there is still an outside shot that the Lakers can land Buddy Hield. At least, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-trade-rumors-lakers-buddy-hield-were-close-to-deal-before-russell-westbrook-trade/">in theory they can.</a></p><p>But ESPN’s Zach Lowe <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31924093/what-russell-westbrook-imperfect-fit-los-angeles-lakers-means-lebron-james-anthony-davis">pops LA’s bubble</a> when it comes to building their Hield of Dreams in LA.</p><blockquote>“There is some beautiful-mind framework in which the Lakers might still sign-and-trade Schroder and acquire Hield,” Lowe wrote. “It’s just hard to find it. The Wizards and Kings don’t want Schroder, sources said. The Lakers would need a fourth team that does with assets the Kings want.”</blockquote><p>The fact is, nobody exactly is champing at the bit to acquire Dennis Schroder in exchange for real assets right now. If they were, perhaps the Lakers would have given more thought to keeping him in the first place.</p><p>The Kings passing on Schroder makes sense given that they already have De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, while also drafting Davion Mitchell in the 2021 NBA Draft. But the fact that the Wizards, who have a serious hole at point guard with Westbrook gone, do not want him is telling of the trade market on the Lakers free agent right now. Unless another team decides that Dennis Schroder is their only option, LA can kiss Buddy Hield goodbye.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The reason Lakers’ hopes for Buddy Hield trade are all but dead

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Lakers-LeBron-James-Anthony-Davis-Russell-Westbrook-Buddy-HieldKing.jpg"></figure><h1>RUMOR: Lakers, Buddy Hield were ‘close’ to deal before Russell Westbrook trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-07-31T11:03:59-07:00">July 31st, 11:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-07-31T11:05:34-07:00">July 31st, 11:05am</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Quinn Allen is a freelance sports journalist and full-time editor for ClutchPoints. He specializes mainly in soccer, basketball, and baseball. When Quinn isn't producing content for CP, he's writing predictions across the European soccer and NBA world for bettors at Sports Betting Dime, one of the fastest-growing sports betting sites in North America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-rumors-russell-westbrook-was-just-plan-b-for-la/">Russell Westbrook joined the Los Angeles Lakers,</a> the 2020 NBA champions almost had a deal done for Sacramento Kings sharpshooter Buddy Hield, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31924093/what-russell-westbrook-imperfect-fit-los-angeles-lakers-means-lebron-james-anthony-davis">according to Zach Lowe of ESPN</a>.</p><p>The Lakers were prepared to send Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell to Sacramento in exchange for Hield, but as Lowe noted, the Westbrook deal “came together fast.” Instead, LA shipped off Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Harrell, and a first-round pick to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Russ, who will form a Big 3 in Los Angeles alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.</p><p>Hield, however, could’ve been a decent fit with the Lakers. He’s a very efficient shooter, draining 40.6% of his career three-point attempts. That was a big problem for LA in the postseason as well where they struggled to shoot the ball.</p><p>In Westbrook though, the Lakers get a versatile offensive threat who literally averaged a triple-double last season with 22.2 points, 11.5 boards, and 11.7 assists. He will help take the offensive load off of LeBron and is eager as ever to finally win an NBA title.</p><p>In the end, the Lakers got the right man. While Westbrook’s decision-making is questionable at times, there’s no doubt he will be an impact player for Frank Vogel’s squad. Hield meanwhile, could still be on the move but it’s also possible he remains with the Kings.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

RUMOR: Lakers, Buddy Hield were ‘close’ to deal before Russell Westbrook trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Lakers-montrezl-harrell-Buddy-Hield-Kings.jpg"></figure><h1>Montrezl Harrell picks up player option, paving way for Lakers trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-07-29T14:08:53-07:00">July 29th, 2:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-07-29T15:09:15-07:00">July 29th, 3:09pm</time><address><a>Michael Corvo</a>Los Angeles Lakers beat reporter and writer for ClutchPoints. Aspiring Shane Falco. NYC native, LA resident, USC grad. Tennis Fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Montrezl Harrell has picked up his $9.7 million player option, clearing the way for him to be included in a <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1420855681117298689">blockbuster trade</a> that <a href="https://twitter.com/LakeShowCP/status/1420865464247283712">could bring</a> <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/russell-westbrook/b3770983">Russell Westbrook</a> to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/los-angeles-lakers/news">Los Angeles Lakers</a>.</p><p>ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1420852216601186305">reported</a> Harrell’s decision — which, crucially, comes two days before the official Aug. 1 deadline to opt-in, allowing Harrell to be included in a trade package with the No. 22 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I believe Montrezl Harrell needed to decide on his player option before the 2021 NBA Draft in order to be in a trade package with the Lakers' No. 22 pick. The player-option deadline is Aug. 1.</p><p>— michael corvo (@_michaelcorvo_) <a href="https://twitter.com/_michaelcorvo_/status/1420865013531688965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">July 29, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Kyle Kuzma ($13 million in 2021-22), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the Lakers’ first-round pick could head to Washington in exchange for Westbrook.</p><p>Harrell is represented by Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, who surely worked hand-in-hand with the Lakers on the decision.</p><p>Earlier in the day, Kuzma <a href="https://twitter.com/LakeShowCP/status/1420834517481254917">had been linked</a> to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/san-antonio-spurs">San Antonio Spurs</a> in a deal for DeMar DeRozan, while Harrell’s opt-in was seen as a key step towards a potential trade with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings">Sacramento Kings</a> centered around Buddy Hield. At the moment, nothing is official, and talks remain ongoing between Sacramento and Los Angeles.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">There's no agreement in place and work still to do on a Westbrook/Lakers deal, but talks with Kings on a possible Hield deal had also been ongoing between two teams, sources said. <a href="https://t.co/FV78eXb1Wh" target="_blank">https://t.co/FV78eXb1Wh</a></p><p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1420859675445276681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">July 29, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Either way, it looks like Trezz may be on the move.</p><p>Harrell averaged 13.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in his first season with the Lakers. He was a valuable energy man in the regular season, but his role was greatly diminished in the playoffs. After the season, Harrell <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-montrezl-harrell-controversial-claims-on-reason-he-was-benched/">hinted at displeasure</a> with the Lakers’ coaching staff following his reduced postseason role.</p><p>Many more teams are projected to be armed with cap space in 2022, which could make opting-in for one season appealing — and profitable — to the 27-year old big.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Montrezl Harrell picks up player option, paving way for Lakers trade

Patrick Beverley

Jahlil Okafor

Marvin Bagley III

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Buddy Hield

Grayson Allen

J.J. Barea

Austin Rivers

Cam Reddish

Rui Hachimura

2016-17 All-Rookie

Sacramento Kings

New Orleans Pelicans

5 seasons

1 season

Career

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2020-21 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.6	4.7	3.6	0.4	0.9

2020-21 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.6	4.7	3.6	0.4	0.9

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