Details of the three trade directions that the LA Lakers are considering: Who are the three unsafe names?
When the NBA 2022-23 season began, the Los Angeles Lakers management publicly announced their intention not to make any exchanges. Then they set a milestone of 20 games (on Thanksgiving) to see how effective it was.
This not only avoids disturbing the squad and creates disunity within the dressing room, but also gives enough time for the players to bond to have the most appropriate assessments.
Yesterday was the day marking the 20-game milestone, the Los Angeles Lakers got 8 wins and 12 losses.
After starting with only 2 wins in the first 12 outings, LeBron James and his teammates got on better in the next 8 matches when they lost only 2 matches and won 6 victories.
However, this revival did not make the fans feel secure, especially after the unbelievable defeat against the Indiana Pacers (leading 17 points in the fourth half, losing by game-winner).
The Lakers' performance still lacked stability, mixed with the element of the pillars taking turns to play due to injury, more or less affecting the continuity in the squad.
So, having reached the 20-match milestone, will the Lakers "explode the trade"? According to current information from many reputable journalists, the immediate answer will be no, but the yellow and purple shirt team will consider a timeline. That's December 15th.
This is the time when free agents signed by the Lakers in the summer can be put on the table such as Dennis Schroder, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Lonnie Walker IV...
The prestigious website The Athletic details three scenarios that the LA team will be able to deploy in the transfer market, including rethinking the Russell Westbrook trade.
At the moment, option 2 is being seriously considered by the Lakers. They have begun to listen to the situation in the transfer market, watching the interest in Beverley and Nunn.
The Athletic's Jovan Buha further notes that the Lakers will enter a streak of six consecutive away games. This will be a series of matches where the team's leadership evaluates the situation before officially operating on the player exchange market.
Experts believe that option 2 will be the most likely to happen. Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn are both in the final year of their contracts and have performed well enough for the Lakers.
When tied together ($18.3 million gross), the duo of defenders could trade for a quality piece or two for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The possibility that Westbrook could be traded cannot be ruled out. But considering there have been many broken negotiations during the offseason, the Lakers can hardly find a partner for the defender who is receiving a salary of up to $ 47 million.
Another possible scenario is that the Los Angeles Lakers suddenly play well in the upcoming series of 6 away games. At that time, the team may again move the timeline from December 15 to the Trade Deadline in February next year.
The next six games, the Lakers will face opponents including the Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons.
Five of these six teams are in the Eastern Playoffs, led by the Bucks (15-5) and the Cavaliers (14-8).
