NBA Rumors: Lakers Pursuing Trevor Ariza Trade In Three-Team Deal

Dan Duangdao
2 Min Read
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

After a 2-5 start to the 2018-19 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers have turned it around and are currently 16-10. With their recent win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers currently have sole possession of the fifth spot in an extremely competitive Western Conference.

After struggling with defense and rebounding, the Tyson Chandler signing completely changed the team’s outlook. Chandler’s arrival was a bit of good fortune as the Phoenix Suns opted to buy him out and waived the 36-year-old early on in the season.

As the Suns are the worst team in the NBA, Trevor Ariza is an ideal candidate to be traded and the Lakers are interested, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

The Los Angeles Lakers are engaged in talks trying to acquire Phoenix Suns forward Trevor Ariza, league sources told ESPN.

While there are a lot of moving parts, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will likely be involved in a potential three-team deal:

The teams have been working to reach an agreement with a third team that would take on Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as part of a potentially larger deal, league sources said.

Ariza, who previously played two seasons with the Lakers and won one championship, would be a significant upgrade as a 3-and-D player. With the 33-year-old only signing a one-year, $15 million deal in free agency, he would not impact the team’s cap space for 2019 free agency.

As the Lakers are looking to win now, Ariza would immediately help while Caldwell-Pope would have an opportunity to play major minutes elsewhere.

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Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.