Lakers Rumors: Jazz, L.A. Deal Hung Up On Draft Pick Conditions?
It would behoove your Los Angeles Lakers to do whatever they can to move off the $47.1 million expiring contract of veteran starting point guard Russell Westbrook. The Long Beach native joined his hometown team thinking he would be its prodigal son, destined to lead the Lakers back to the title. Instead, his indifferent defense, poor late-game decision-making and miserable shooting doomed the club to the lottery. L.A. didn't even reap the benefits of its own first-round draft pick, having sent that to the Pelicans during the 2019 Anthony Davis trade. Although trading Russell Westbrook makes the most sense for L.A., it appears that the team is moving away from that possibility.
On this weekend's edition of his podcast Please Don't Aggregate This, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report wades through a sea of Lakers rumors, joined by L.A. fan Daman Rangoola. And yes, we realize it's a bit ironic to literally be aggregating this rumor from a podcast called Please Don't Aggregate This, but it's a living.
Though Fischer cautioned that, at this point, "it doesn't seem likely that a Russell Westbrook trade is going to happen," the reasoning behind that appears to be stubbornness on the part of Los Angeles.
Fischer revealed the gap between one of the Lakers' few realistic remaining trade partners, the Utah Jazz. He provided an update on the current status of a potential deal that would send Russell Westbrook to Utah for some of its many available veterans. Per Fischer, the Jazz would consider trading several combinations of its own veterans in exchange for a package centered around both the Lakers' two highly-coveted future first-round picks, in 2027 and 2029, for Russell Westbrook. Fischer reports that the Lakers, led by team president Rob Pelinka and majority owner Jeanie Buss, would apparently be open to include one draft pick and a future pick swap, but not both draft picks outright.
Why are those two Lakers draft picks so appetizing to rival franchises? Simple math would dictate that, even if he did want to stay with L.A. that long, All-Star forward LeBron James would have just finished his age-42 season in the summer of 2027. Even Anthony Davis would be pretty old by NBA standards, at age 34. The 6'10" big man has struggled with his health in recent seasons, and that typically doesn't become less of a problem after frontcourt players hit the other side of 30. Who knows how competitive the Lakers will be in 2027? Before James came to L.A., the Lakers had been struggling to recapture their identity as one of the league's glamor teams in one of its glamor markets. Then-free agent Kevin Durant famously refused to even take a meeting with the team during the summer of 2016. It's quite possible that a 2027 Lakers team could produce a primo lottery-level pick, to say nothing of what the club will look like by 2029.
But anyway, back to the present.
Let's review the veteran Jazz assets the team would most likely want to send to L.A. in a deal. The Lakers' biggest needs are shooting and size. 33-year-old Bojan Bogdanovic, in the final season of his four-year, $73.1 million contract with the Jazz, would make the most sense for L.A. as a floor-spacing power forward. As a 38.7% three-point shooter on 6.8 looks per game last season (and a 39.2% three-point shooter on 5.2 attempts over the course of his career), Bogdanovic would immediately become the team's most reliable long-range option. 34-year-old veteran point guard Mike Conley, still a decent shooter, has struggled to remain healthy throughout the course of an NBA season in recent years, and beyond his $22.7 million contract this season, has $14.3 million guaranteed on his contract for the 2023-24 season, which would make him somewhat difficult to trade in a deal down the line.
Swingman Malik Beasley (set to make $15.6 million next year) would make the most sense as a fit alongside Bogdanovic, though his numbers fell to earth last year after a dynamite 2020-21 season. 2021 Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson (earning $13.3 million) is a bit of a ball-stopper and not much of a defender. Given that the Lakers are actively trying to get rid of that kind of player in their backcourt already, receiving another one in return feels superfluous. Tweener forward Rudy Gay had a competent three-point shooting season last year at 34.5%, and can play both small and power forward, but he disappointed in Utah during his age-35 season, and may not have much left to give this year. Gay, who would most likely earn a veteran's minimum this year were he a free agent, is instead earning about twice that much, $6.2 million. He holds some value for this particular Lakers team as a trade throw-in.
If Utah is willing to part with one of its younger players, athletic 6'9" power forward Jarred Vanderbilt holds some intrigue and upside. Still just 23, the University of Kentucky product emerged as a full-time starter on a playoff-caliber Minnesota Timberwolves club last season, alongside now-Laker Patrick Beverley. He is not a long-range sniper, but provided that Beasley and Bogdanovic would also be headed to Los Angeles in the deal, that's okay. He could be an interior bruiser who would help Anthony Davis preserve his body during the season.
Per the ESPN Trade Machine (a very, very addictive resource), the money would work in a deal that sends Russell Westbrook to Utah in exchange for Bogdanovic, Beasley, and either Vanderbilt or Gay. It's time for the Lakers to play ball.
