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Scotto: The team with some guys that are interesting when you look at that December 15 date is the In-Season tournament champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. There are a couple of guys there that become trade-eligible on the 15th. You’ve got their point guard D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, who they brought over from Miami, and you could throw Christian Wood in there as well, who they signed in the offseason.
When I look at Russell, he’s been pretty consistent since he returned to the Lakers. He’s averaged 17 points and six assists. He’s shooting 48 percent overall and 41 percent on his threes, and he’s got an $18.7 million player option for next season. As I mentioned in my top trade candidates piece for the season, rival NBA executives who have spoken with HoopsHype believe Russell and Rui Hachimura are two potential trade candidates to watch on the Lakers, given their play and the salaries that they earn.
You could look at Vincent, who signed a three-year, $33 million contract in free agency and missed all but four games this year with a left knee injury. The Lakers have been cautious with him, and they’ve given him more time to heal. I’m told Vincent is hopeful that he can return sometime within the next two weeks. I know he’s certainly played many times while he was injured in Miami. This is a guy that wants to make good on that free agent splash that the Lakers had.
Gozlan: You mentioned Russell, and he is playing well this season. You mentioned his numbers. The reason why he’s automatically a trade candidate, aside from the salary they signed him to on the two-year deal, a pretty short deal, is his playoff disparity. He plays pretty well in the regular season, but then last year in the playoffs, those numbers dipped to 13 points per game, 42 percent from the field, 31 percent from three instead of high 30s. Then, obviously, the defensive deficiencies. There were times when he was not playable. He’s a great regular season player who will help the Lakers get there, but I think in the long run, they want to get players that can be viable for the playoffs. You mentioned Vincent. The Lakers keep falling for Heat guards that over perform, and Vincent has been injured but definitely has some reminders of what happened with the Kendrick Nunn experience in his first year. Hopefully, Vincent comes back soon.
When you mention who the Lakers are targeting, the obvious target is Zach LaVine. Everyone is waiting to count down the days for when the Lakers have enough trade-eligible players, so they could potentially trade for LaVine. It’s been a month since the reporting came out that he’s open to get traded. I listed a couple teams and mostly some teams like Detroit and Orlando that need some offense. It was a very short list. Obviously, the Lakers were mentioned. Now, as we’re further away from that, I feel like the Lakers might be the only team that kind of makes sense for him at this point, if he’s going to get traded this year. So the question is, how much is Chicago going to require from the Lakers or any other team to trade him? If they’re not getting the type of value they want, are they comfortable just getting off that money and maybe taking just a little bit of value?
I saw reports that the Bulls are interested in Austin Reaves, but the Lakers wouldn’t do that. If you’re the Lakers, I don’t think I’d want to go from Reaves to LaVine at all. Maybe there’s something where they get LaVine, and maybe they could also get Alex Caruso. I think that’s a guy that really raises their championship ceiling over most of the players. Would the Lakers consider a package where they get LaVine and Caruso, but then have to give up Reaves, but they don’t have to give up any picks? Maybe they can also get off Vincent in the process? I think that’s an interesting scenario. They definitely need a point of attack defender like Caruso to defend some of the better ball dominant players in the league.
Scotto: I know Jeanie Buss is a big fan of Austin Reaves. This was a guy that is kind of a developmental story for them as an undrafted guy, and they take pride in that. Lakers fans were saddened to see Alex Caruso go. With Zach LaVine being repped by Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, obviously, anytime that’s the case for representation, his clients always get linked to the Lakers, and he certainly has a few of them now on the team.
For the Lakers, they’d have to decide if having LaVine as the clear third guy at his salary is worth it, or do you try to do it more by committee like they did last year? That trade scenario you brought up is an interesting one and certainly food for thought.
The Bulls are interesting because they almost make it seem like they want to keep DeMar DeRozan, the older player, and you’ve got Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) in his 30s. What’s the timeline for Chicago in that sense? Of those guys, LaVine is the youngest. You look at Arturas Karnisovas and Bulls management, and they sold ownership previously, when they had Lonzo Ball, that this team was going to be good. Now, Ball’s injury was unforeseen, and you couldn’t have predicted that would happen, but certainly the ceiling has been lowered for the group. If you’re trying to keep DeMar and Vooch, you’d almost be more in a win-now mode. That has been the sentiment that rival executives around the league have gotten. When I wrote the top trade candidates piece recently, we touched on that they’re not necessarily looking for straight draft capital. They’re looking for players that can help them win now and maybe a pick down the line if they can add to their cupboard.
