Getty Images Derrick White of the San Antonio Spurs.
The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to be players at the trade deadline and one player they could look to make a deal for is San Antonio Spurs guard Derrick White.
White is playing just over 30.5 minutes per game this season with the Spurs, averaging 14.5 points, 5.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. What makes White an interesting prospect is his ability to play off the ball and drain 3-pointers when called upon.
While his percentage from beyond the arc is down this season (29.4 percent) he’s a career 34.2 percent shooter from three. He’s also an adept defender, able to hold his own against the top guards in the league.
White was selected by Bleacher Report as a top trade target for the Lakers. Here’s what writer Zach Buckley had to say about the Lakers’ interest in White and why San Antonio might be willing to part with him:
The San Antonio Spurs won’t be in a rush to move White, but they might be receptive to the idea for a couple of reasons. First, he’s less consistent than you would like from a player making $15.2 million this season with an escalating salary over the next three years, per Spotrac. Second, he’s a touch old for a rebuild (27), so the Spurs might want to move him out to create more minutes for younger guards like Lonnie Walker IV and Joshua Primo.
Trade Likely Not Worth it for Lakers
What it would take to get White via trade would be the question and the Lakers might have a tough time matching the salary without a third team getting involved. A combination of Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn would get the deal done but at that point the Lakers would have to consider the value and if the move is making their team any better.
Other names listed as targets for the Lakers included Pistons forward Jerami Grant and Kenrich Williams of the Thunder.
If the Lakers want to make a signifcant move, they’ll have to get creative. The roster is crammed with three big salaries from Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis and the team is also pretty low in terms of assets. The trade deadline is February 10.
Lakers to Keep Avery Bradley, Austin Reaves
The Lakers did reach a decision on two guards on Friday, guaranteeing the contracts of Avery Bradley and Austin Reaves.
Bradley was a late addition to the roster but has proven to be an important one. He’s solid on the defense end and is shooting just under 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Reaves was an undrafted free agent but has proven that he belongs on an NBA court. He missed some time early this season but is averaging 5.6 points in 20.3 minutes per game. Even Lakers coach Frank Vogel admitted he didn’t expect Reaves to be a viable member of the rotation so early in his NBA career.
“From the time you watch him play on his college tapes when I watched him in the summer before we didn’t draft him but before we picked him up, we knew that the kid had some ability,” Vogel said of Reaves. “You watch him play in the summer league and you see what he can do on both sides of the ball and when you sign him to the 15th spot, I definitely didn’t envision him being a rotational player early on.
“Me trusting him was more brought on to me because he was forced into action due to injuries. You get shorthanded and it’s like, ‘Okay, let’s see what he can do.’ And he excelled in those opportunities to the point where when other guys came back, we still wanted to keep him in there and obviously, he’s been in and out of the lineup too, but he’s just playing really solid basketball on both ends.”