Lakers News: NBA Insider Thinks Bradley Beal to LA Makes a Lot of Sense
Trade season is almost upon us, and that means it's time for some rumors. The Lakers, who currently sit at 13-17 and just lost Anthony Davis for an extended period of time, find themselves in a difficult position.
At times, they've looked really good this year — mainly when the ball is running through AD. But with him now out for at least a month, James will be tasked with carrying a lot of the load on his own — and that hasn't generally worked throughout his time in LA.
So, the Lakers should be pretty active on the trade market, as they try to maximize however many years James has left at this dominant level — and The Athletic's John Hollinger thinks Bradley Beal in the Purple and Gold just makes too much sense.
"He is one of the few star players who can easily fit in as a third option next to James and Davis, yet is good enough to take over as the lead operator when James is off the court. Moving him to L.A. also seems like one of the few options that would save Washington from a disastrous no-trade clause in Beal’s generous five-year, $251 million deal. It would let the Wizards re-sign Kyle Kuzma without going into the luxury tax and likely leave enough cap room to ink another starter-caliber player too."
Beal is one of the premier talents in the league. Still just 29-years-old, he's averaging 23.4 points, 5.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game on 52/33/86 splits. He's been an All-Star three times in his career, and is coming off an offseason in which he signed a massive five-year, $251 million deal, that shockingly came with a no-trade clause.
So while Beal is still on the right side of thirty, and continues to play at a high-level, the Wizards, who currently sit at 12-20 and finally just ended a 10-game skid, may find that his contract will become more of a burden as the years go on. While it's never easy to trade an All-Star talent, especially at just 29-years-old, the Wizards clearly can't win with just Beal, and may be better off finding him a new home and building around the rest of their young pieces.
The deal would probably be centered around Russell Westbrook — who's on an expiring contract — and the Lakers 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. While the Wizards may try to get more for Beal, that contract won't be an easy one to move.
The Lakers would then have quite the formidable big three in James, Davis and Beal, and would have some sort of future surrounded around Davis and Beal, who are both just 29-years-old. Also, in the meantime, Beal could help LeBron carry the load as Davis works his way back from injury.
