Welcome back to the latest edition of the Lakers newsletter, where I’ll do my best to navigate you through what the Lakers’ front office might be thinking as the trade deadline starts to creep up. It’s a complicated situation that’s constantly changing.
What — Seinfeld voice — is the deal?
There’s a bit of healthy impatience in certain corners of the Lakers’ locker room as the team moved past the halfway point of the season without making any notable roster moves.
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Despite a recent five-game winning streak and Friday’s win against Memphis, the Lakers are 21-25 and, for now, on the fringe of the postseason race.
It’s led to some thumb-twiddling.
In defense of the front office, the asking prices, leaguewide, have been viewed as unreasonably high — perhaps because of the haul Utah got for All-Star center Rudy Gobert in the offseason. And the list of teams viewed as sellers is dwarfed by potential buyers — with veteran-led teams like the Lakers, Clippers, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors all more or less in the play-in race and not the playoff race as January enters its final weeks.
All of this is to say that the options, at least as of today, either aren’t great or are expensive.
It’s why there’s healthy pessimism among a mixture of scouts, executives and agents that a significant deal can be brokered.
There continue to be signals that the Lakers won’t trade both of the first-round picks available to them — at this point, kind of a common sense revelation — unless some All-NBA-type player suddenly becomes available.
One deal that could be available would be for former lottery pick Cam Reddish, who has been completely out of the New York Knicks’ rotation for nearly two months. The Knicks initially hoped to recoup the first-round pick they sent to Atlanta in trading for him, but now league insiders believe a second-round pick and an expiring contract would get a deal done.
The Lakers have two contracts that would allow that trade to work — Lonnie Walker IV and Kendrick Nunn.
Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn, right, controls the ball against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 19.
(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
Walker, despite some inconsistency, is a better scorer and shooter than Reddish and just one year older. He’s rehabbing from knee tendinitis and should be returning soon.
Nunn would be the more logical choice in a deal, but after missing all of last season and struggling through the first chunk of this one, he’s found his stride in January, he’s averaging 11 points on 48.8% shooting and hitting 37.5% from three.
In the team’s heartbreaking losses to Dallas, Philadelphia and Sacramento last week, Nunn was a combined plus-32. Against Memphis, Nunn was plus-3 as he scored 11 points.
Reddish has better size and fits a real need on the wing, but there’s not a consensus internally that he’d be an upgrade.
There’s also another reason not to make the deal, and for the Lakers, it might be the more powerful argument. If the Lakers trade Nunn for Reddish, they can’t trade Nunn in a package for someone who would be way more likely to make the Lakers more of a threat.
It’s the biggest issue the team is facing, the Lakers’ decision makers wrestling with “If we do this, then we can’t do that later” thinking.
The team has signaled its preference to not take on another long-term contract. The Lakers project to have $30 million or so in salary-cap space this summer — not enough to fund a maximum contract, but enough to put them in the conversation for some of the top potential free agents like Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Draymond Green.
But the Lakers have come out of free agency empty-handed before. And league scouts and executives don’t view the free-agency pool as particularly deep, meaning teams could look to do their spending now on the trade market.
It’s why some people still view Detroit’s Bojan Bogdanovic as the ideal target for the Lakers.
Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic directs a teammate during a game against the Orlando Magic on Dec. 28.
(Duane Burleson / Associated Press)
The cost is steep — sources in both conferences say the Pistons have been looking for a good first-round draft pick and a young player in a trade. But Bogdanovic is a dead-eye three-point shooter and scorer at 6 feet 7. He’s averaging a career-best 21.3 points and the Pistons clearly value him.
While Bogdanovic is under contract for two more years and would cut significantly into the Lakers’ cap space, the team likely would have plenty of suitors should they need to deal him to clear room should one of the top superstars want to play for the Lakers and sign this summer.
It’s an option the Lakers would have with a player currently under contract and one that would be more complicated if the team dealt for a player on an expiring a contract because of salary-cap holds and their impact on the Lakers’ ability to go over the cap to re-sign their own free agents.
Still, there will be competition for Bogdanovic — there isn’t a team in the league that’s not looking for a wing who hits 40% of his threes at a high volume. And the Lakers have been hesitant to make a move until they get clarity on Anthony Davis’ return from injury — and that should be coming this week.
The decisions are complicated, the potential ripples impacting the decisions to follow. It’s why they’re moving so cautiously.
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The Memphis undercard
Shannon Sharpe walks away from the court after getting into a verbal altercation with Memphis star Ja Morant and others during Friday’s game at Crypto.com Arena.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
Friday’s win over Memphis was a wild one, Dennis Schroder’s last-second steal and layup and Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke’s missed free throw giving the Lakers an unlikely win to close a five-game homestand.
It wasn’t the only excitement, either.
The halftime show was put on by former NFL star turned TV personality Shannon Sharpe, the Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant and father Tee Morant — who all took part in the rare “courtside celebrity versus the entire city of Memphis” halftime argument.
It was ridiculous — and it got kicked up a notch after the game, with Times ace Brad Turner in the visiting locker room to hear these gems from Brooks:
On the Sharpe run-in: “I ain’t talking about that. You can ask him. He’s the blogger or whatever he is. I don’t really care about all that. Next question.”
BLOGGER!
On if Sharpe’s interaction was appropriate for a fan: “A regular pedestrian like him? No. He should have never come back in the game. But this is L.A.”
PEDESTRIAN!
Asked about it, LeBron James didn’t hesitate in picking sides.
“I ride with Shannon for 365 days, 366 on a leap year, 24/7,” James said. “So, that’s my guy. So I’ll always have his back and he’s got mine. He can talk with the best of them, for sure.”
Song of the week
A trade deadline anthem just in time from the Portland-formed She & Him — sort of a hipster super duo of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward.
In case you missed it
Dennis Schroder the hero as Lakers end Grizzlies’ 11-game winning streak in thriller
Shannon Sharpe gets into heated argument with Ja Morant and others at Lakers game
Lakers rookie Max Christie says he’ll learn from blunder late in loss to Kings
Elliott: LeBron James says Lakers were ‘pretty good.’ He knows that’s not good enough
LeBron James and Lakers lose another close game as late mistakes costly versus Kings
Lakers star LeBron James proves again that he can defy time
LeBron James ends Lakers’ losing streak with season-high 48 points vs. Rockets
LeBron James surpasses 38,000 career points in Lakers’ loss to 76ers
Lakers stay optimistic as Anthony Davis and other injured players work toward return
Elliott: LeBron James does his best to show restraint as frustrating Lakers season continues
Lakers can’t close out Mavericks in physical game, fall in double OT
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