There is plenty for the Los Angeles Lakers to evaluate as they make plans for the upcoming trade deadline. They need to figure out what their current roster might or might not be missing, what they are willing to part with and for which players.
Other teams, like the Chicago Bulls for example, are in a less precarious place, as they sit far closer to being sellers with players other teams might covet, like Andre Drummond.
Drummond is one of many players on the Bulls roster that could be had in a trade if 21-24 Chicago decides to make those moves. And the Lakers may be a natural fit for a number of reasons. A backup big has been an ongoing issue through the Lakers’ first half of 2023-24. Drummond is already familiar with how L.A. operates and the Bulls and Lakers have already had trade conversations surrounding other players.
But there is another reason the Lakers might have interest in Drummond, and it is reportedly related specifically to the way last season ended when L.A. was unceremoniously swept in the Western Conference Finals by Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
The Lakers have also considered dealing for players who could address specific needs in a potential playoff matchup, such as Andre Drummond of the Bulls, in anticipation of a postseason rematch with the Denver Nuggets and their big front line of Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon, sources said.
Drummond is in the final year of a two-year veteran minimum contract, and he is earning $3.36 million this season. That is no longer a veteran minimum, meaning the Lakers would need to send matching salary in return. Luckily, this could be just about anyone on their roster making a veteran minimum.
This could be a bargain bin move for the Lakers if they get to the trade deadline and want to do something to help them in a potential rematch against the Nuggets. Perhaps the Lakers could even get assets, like a second-round pick, out of the deal depending one which minimum salary they give out.
But this type of rumor shows just how much the Lakers have to consider when they look at the trade deadline and how they want to approach it.
Anthony Davis: Lakers cannot worry about trade rumors
The Lakers have been linked with a number of different players as potential trade targets and players will hear their names tossed in these rumors which can mess with their psyche. But Anthony Davis feels the Lakers can’t focus on those rumors, and instead must lock in on what they can control on the court.
“I don’t know. Like you said, I have no control over what the front office does,” Davis said after the Lakers’ victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. “But we can’t worry about that in the locker room. We focus on what we have right here and try to get wins and try to win with what we have. We’ve shown that we’re capable of doing that, just got to put a string of wins together.
“But once you start getting to that and all the rumors and outside noise, it can cause some, I don’t want to say division in the locker room, but it gets in players’ heads who are in those rumors, just the uncertainty of what’s gonna happen. So the best thing you can do is just not even worry about it and just play, and I think that’s what we’re trying to do right now.”
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