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Proposed Trade Sends Lakers $132 Million Former Number 1 Draft Pick

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Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Lakers

Getty Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Lakers

The issues within the Los Angeles Lakers roster are piling up, from a lack of perimeter shooting to a shortage of talented front-court players – Rob Pelinka has his work cut out for him.

According to a Western Conference Executive, who spoke with Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney under the condition of anonymity, the Lakers could resolve their front-court issues by entering into trade negotiations for former number one overall draft pick, Deandre Ayton.

“The Lakers want to be involved in free agency next summer, though, so they’re not going to be out to just take back bad contracts. If they were willing to do that they’d have already moved Russ at this point.
The one guy that might be possible is if Phoenix wanted to get out of its deal with (Deandre) Ayton, that’s a young guy who’s better than anything the Lakers would get in free agency, so someone like that would be the exception. It’s a longshot that something like that could happen, though,” The executive told Deveney.
While Ayton becoming available via trade is indeed a long shot, there has long been a rumored tension between the player and the Phoenix Suns front office – so, if Phoenix struggle out of the gates this year, they could begin looking at ways to re-shape their roster around budding superstar, Devin Booker

What Would Ayton Bring to The Lakers

At seven-foot-one, Ayton would immediately improve the Lakers’ rim protection, deterring drives and altering shots around the bucket, while also providing a reliable presence on both the offensive and defensive glass.

On offense, Ayton is a reliable rim-runner who is exceptional at converting his looks around the rim – often finishing in the top 15th percentile of bigs in the league, and is also capable of hurting teams on short-roll offense courtesy of his mid-range shooting ability. 

Furthermore, having Ayton within the rotation would ensure Anthony Davis can continue in his preferred role as a power forward, which could go some way to helping him rediscover the form that made him look like a future franchise cornerstone just three years ago.

Lakers Could Target Mavericks Duo in Westbrook Trade

Another angle the Western Conference executive explored was the potential for a Russell Westbrook trade with the Dallas Mavericks – although that scenario is contingent on multiple outcomes coming to pass.

“There is going to be a team that comes out and just has a sh** season. Someone gets hurt, someone doesn’t play well, someone else gets hurt and it’s a mess. That is the kind of team that would look at its bad contracts and maybe want to clear them out.

So that’s the possibility there. If Luka (Doncic) gets hurt in Dallas and the Lakers take on (Tim) Hardaway Jr and Christian Wood for Russ without giving up a draft pick, something like that. Dallas can clear its books a little.”

However, if given the choice between the two deals the executive proposed, Lakers fans would likely take Ayton, as they would still have enough assets in terms of personnel to make a secondary trade to bring in some additional shooting. Either way, both of these trade scenarios are long shots, but there’s no denying Ayton could be a significant piece for the Lakers moving forward.

Adam Taylor is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns for Heavy. He has also written for CelticsBlog, USA Today, Yardbarker and FanSided. Adam has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor

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