The Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets are a pair of the worst teams in the NBA this year.
Houston is dead last in the West; L.A. ranks 12th but just lost Anthony Davis for more than a month. They’ll like be back at No. 14 or below shortly.
Understandably, chatter has begun regarding whether a deal could be made between the Lakers and Rockets.
Specifically, one that would address both teams’ biggest weaknesses.
According to Michael Pina of The Ringer, don’t sleep on the prospect of a deal between L.A. and Houston centered around Eric Gordon.
“The Lakers can try to thread that needle by holding on to one of those picks and protecting the other (or bundling together a bunch of second-round picks), then attaching it to some lesser salary and making calls to some of those obvious sellers mentioned above,” he wrote.
“They’re rumored to have interest in (Bojan) Bogdanovic, but the better deal might be Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker IV, and some type of draft compensation for Eric Gordon, whose salary next year is non-guaranteed.
“Gordon knows how to complement superstars (including Westbrook, during his final days as one in Houston), and he has playoff experience, a cannon, and the defensive wherewithal to close big games. This move wouldn’t make the Lakers a championship favorite, but Westbrook, Gordon, Austin Reaves, LeBron, and Davis is a lineup that can do some actual damage.”
It is hard to argue with that rationale. Gordon would solve a lot of the Lakers’ current problems.
Gordon is currently averaging 11.8 points per game on 42.8 percent shooting from the field and 35.3 percent shooting from three. Those numbers are noticeably down, but he would also immediately become the third or fourth best player on the Lakers if this deal occurred.
Los Angeles is currently one of five teams in the hunt for a Terry Rozier trade, is randomly a suitor for Kyle Kuzma and is apparently eyeing three sharpshooters.
Gordon makes as much sense as any of those moves.
Messi is a winner on and off the pitch. He also won the World Cup of life. https://t.co/2ckOEYqf4t
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 18, 2022
Will the Lakers actually make any of them, though?
Or will they sit pat and do nothing as they have for more than a year now?
One way or another, the answer to that question will emerge soon enough.
Related: Argentina Fan Takes Her Shirt Off To Celebrate World Cup Win (Video)
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
