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The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to find a star free agent to possibly pair alongside LeBron James. They’ve also publicly been pushing to land a trade for star big man Anthony Davis and create a big three in Los Angeles. However, if the Lakers wind up striking out in free agency, not all is lost as they can still build a super team through trade – just for a different player.
How Lakers’ Bradley Beal Trade Sets up Path to Still Land Anthony Davis
As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says, the Lakers making a move now for Bradley Beal could actually help keep them in the running for Anthony Davis when he hits free agency next season. While the bad news is that this is a bit more of a long play that requires the Lakers to wait until next offseason to land Davis, they wouldn’t have to give up most of their young core and could decide how to best clear cap space for Davis in free agency next season
However, in order to bring on Davis next offseason, the Lakers will almost certainly need to clear off every player not named LeBron James or Bradley Beal from the roster. If the Lakers feel they can put a solid roster together of veteran role players on minimum deals and cap exceptions, this might be an option to pursue. Otherwise, the cost to land Davis might simply be too high for the Lakers to follow through with the second phase of the plan.
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That said, the option will at the very least be on the table, giving the Lakers at least a bit of control over their destiny.
What Would It Take To Land Bradley Beal?
The Wizards are currently in salary cap hell with John Wall’s monster extension due to hit the books next season. Beal brings in a hefty $27 million salary in 2019-20 and is signed through 2021. While an All-Star, Beal wouldn’t command nearly as high of a trade package as Anthony Davis and the Lakers could potentially land Beal for the fourth pick in the upcoming draft alongside one of the pieces in their young core.
The good news on this front is that as long as the Lakers are under the salary cap, they can take on Beal’s contract without matching the salary as that would bring the Wizards back down below the salary cap of $109 million. Seeing as the Wizards are handicapped in terms of adding to their roster with both Wall and Beal, the Wizards don’t have much leverage to negotiate even though Beal is on a relatively team-friendly deal and coming off a career season.
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