The Los Angeles Lakers were linked to a controversial role player ahead of next month’s looming NBA Trade Deadline.
Over the past week L.A. has been connected to a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a win-win-win three-team deal with the Atlanta Hawks and a reunion with Alex Caruso of the Chicago Bulls.
The only common denominator has been that, in some capacity, all the players mentioned could help the Lakers become slightly better in certain ways.
This week ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Jeanie Buss and Co. could kick the tires on a player with something of a spotty history.
“Another player with similar size as [Dorian] Finney-Smith and an even more polished offensive game is Miles Bridges of the Charlotte Hornets,” he wrote.
“But it is unlikely L.A. would pursue a trade for him, sources told ESPN, because he would not retain his Bird rights, meaning the Lakers would be getting Bridges for only the rest of 2023-24 because he would likely find more lucrative offers in free agency than L.A. would be able to offer.”
Bridges, for those who have forgotten, was linked to a particularly ugly off-the-court incident not long ago. The photos from that situation were especially shocking.
Nevertheless, Bridges is back in the league and apparently something of a hot commodity.
It is telling that, according to McMenamin, if L.A. doesn’t get Bridges – it would simply be because of salary reasons. Not character reasons.
Bridges is averaging 20.8 points per game this season on 45.8 percent shooting from the field and 35.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
As a basketball player, it is easy to see why he has value to teams around the league.
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As a person – not so much.
Either way, LeBron James and the Lakers promise to be busy ahead of the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline.
What big moves will they ultimately end up making? Time will tell.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
