Lakers Rumors: Who Is L.A. Waiting For?
Your 3-10 Los Angeles Lakers are just not very good, despite the fact that they're fielding a roster that includes LeBron James and Anthony Davis, two future first ballot Hall of Famers still playing around an All-Star level, if not consistently an All-NBA level, perhaps.
Per SI's Howard Beck on his podcast The Crossover, Lakers executives may be seeking out bigger fish than what is typically discussed in NBA rumors:
“I will add one thing without going into all the detail, but I was canvassing a bunch of front office folks last week when I was workshopping my idea of ‘Can the Nets tear down now?' ...And in those discussions, when I brought up the Lakers, the pushback I was getting was they’re waiting for a specific player. That they’re not doing the Pacer deal, that they won’t do the Kyrie deal now that we for sure thought they would do a couple months ago, is an indication that the Lakers are waiting for a bigger piece to come loose that they think they can trade Westbrook and the two future firsts for.”
As a reminder, the Indiana Pacers deal on the table at present currently concerns center Myles Turner and shooting guard Buddy Hield being shipped to Los Angeles, in exchange for Russell Westbrook's expiring $47.1 million salary and two future first-round picks, in 2027 and 2029, that seem likely to be high-level lottery selections. There has also been chatter about trades with the San Antonio Spurs, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Utah Jazz. It was recently reported that L.A. had been interested in star Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal, who would be the best overall player returning in any of these deals.
Beal would essentially be a Westbrook upgrade who could offer better floor spacing, but the Lakers would still need a lot of defensive help along the perimeter. If L.A. really wants to try yet another "Big Three" instead of trying to add high-caliber depth around stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they need to choose wisely. James and Davis are not as good or as durable as they were in 2019-20. Adding Bradley Beal into the mix would not be enough to get this team back to the promised land.
