Getty Images Head Coach Darvin Ham of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers might not pull off a blockbuster trade this season but a smaller proposed move could land the squad some extra shooting along with a monster at center in Boban Marjanović.
The move proposed by Bleacher Report would flip guard Kendrick Nunn and a second-round pick to Houston for shooting guard Garrison Mathews and Marjanović. Here’s what B/R had to say about a potential deal.
Mathews, 26, is a career 36.9 percent marksman from deep who would thrive off looks from LeBron James. Marjanović gives the Lakers some more insurance at center and has been ultra efficient in limited minutes throughout his career.
The Rockets can flip Nunn to a point guard-needy team at the deadline and get the Lakers’ second-round pick next summer, a selection that could fall in the top 40 overall.
Matthews isn’t a household name but could be another reliable shooter off the bench for the Lakers, who need any spark they can get on the offensive end of the floor.
Marjanović is a fan favorite everywhere he lands due to his gregarious nature. The 7-foot-3 big man bounced around the league over the last few seasons, playing for the Clippers, Sixers, Mavericks and now Houston. He hasn’t seen much of the court for the Rockets, averaging just 3.2 minutes, 1.2 points and a single rebound. He holds career averages of 5.9 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Nunn hasn’t had the smoothest start to the season with the Lakers after missing all of last year with a knee injury. He’s averaging 13.9 minutes per game and 5.6 points while shooting a career-low 36% from the field.
Lakers Still Monitoring Trade Market
It looked inevitable early on that the Lakers would make a deal involving Russell Westbrook but the former MVP has thrived off the bench, averaging 15.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists, also improving his shooting percentages after a miserable start to the year.
But the sticking point in making a deal for the Lakers has been more about their first-round picks, which they have been careful about dealing. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his podcast — The Hoop Collective — that the Lakers are still gauging the trade market but mid-December is their timeline to start eyeing a deal.
“What they feel is realistic is playing .500 ball until December 15 when deals start to potentially open around the league because that’s when contracts that were signed this past summer can be traded,” Windhorst said. “And then maybe you can finally make this mythical draft-pick trade that’s been talked about for months and months and months sometime in late December to mid-January and have that be an additional thrust to the type of basketball you’ve already been doing, you’ve already established.”
Lakers Expected to Get LeBron James Back
The Lakers are expected to have LeBron James back in the lineup on Friday after going 3-2 without him in the lineup. The 37-year-old James has been nursing a groin injury and has also been dealing with a sore foot that forced him to miss a game earlier in the season.
Anthony Davis has carried the load and a bit more with James sidelined. He’s averaging 35.5 points, 18.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.3 steals over the last four games and the Lakers are hoping he can maintain that form when his co-star James returns to the lineup.
James is averaging 24.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. The Lakers face the Spurs in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.