Even though the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office is in a bit of a transitional period after Magic Johnson was named president of basketball operations, the rumors surrounding the team haven’t died one bit.
Magic has said that he is handling all of the calls with other GMs around the league right now and most of the calls he’s taken have been centered on veteran guard Lou Williams. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, the Charlotte Hornets are very interested in acquiring the guard:
Charlotte aggressively pursuing Los Angeles guard Lou Williams, league sources tell ESPN. As @ESPNSteinLine notes, most likely to be dealt.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 21, 2017
The Hornets join a list of teams who have shown an interest in Williams. The Washington Wizards have been mentioned a number of times in connection to Williams as have the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz. The Hornets represent a different possibility however, as they are not a good team right now.
The Jazz, Rockets, and Wizards are all playoff teams meaning a potential first-round pick that the Lakers could receive would be later in the draft. The Hornets currently have the 12th-worst record in the NBA and aren’t in the playoffs so a pick from them could potentially be a lottery pick.
If the Lakers could get a pick that high for Lou Williams it would be hard to pass up that deal. The potential to have two lottery picks in a draft that is believed to be an extremely deep one would certainly help the rebuilding of the team.
There are less than 48 hours remaining until the trade deadline comes and the Lakers will undoubtedly be a team to watch as the rumors surrounding them will continue until the team makes a move.
