The Los Angeles Lakers failed to make the playoffs last season. It was a huge disappointment on every level, and it made it abundantly clear to everyone involved that changes needed to be made.
Up to this point, the difficultly has been identifying what precisely those changes should be.
L.A. has made it no secret that it is willing, and perhaps even excited to, dump Russell Westbrook and Talen Horton-Tucker. What they’d be able to get in return, though, is very much in question.
This week, during an episode of The Hoop Collective, ESPN NBA insider Tim Bontemps offered up an intriguing prospective trade between the Lakers and Utah Jazz.
“If I’m the Lakers, I’m looking at the Jazz roster and I’m thinking, ‘Hmm, they got Mike Conley, got Bojan Bogdanovic, got Jordan Clarkson, got Patrick Beverley,’” Bontemps said.
“They could get all four of those guys with THT and Russ. …If I’m the Lakers, I’m looking at those four guys and thinking those are the kind of guys that, to go back to our earlier conversation, if the Lakers could get them, they could really be in some business in terms of being competitive.”
It’s hard to argue with that assessment. If the Lakers were to get that package back, it would immediately solve a lot of their most pressing issues: three-point shooting, defense and reliable point guard play.
L.A. has made it known that there are two holes that need to be plugged up via free agency. This potential Jazz deal would go some ways in doing that.
And given Westbrook’s latest angry social media outburst, a trade involving him can’t come soon enough.
The photos speak for themselves. https://t.co/ofrNcgTkru
— Game 7 (@game7__) August 21, 2022
Will Los Angeles and Utah be able to come to terms on a deal? It’s impossible to say for certain.
Would it be a huge win for the Lakers if they did?
Absolutely.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
