New Orleans Pelicans All-Star forward Anthony Davis isn’t the only player on the Los Angeles Lakers’ radar.
While Davis may be the Lakers’ top trade target, their are other players they are considering to acquire as they look to surround LeBron James with some more top-tier talent. After making wholesale changes up top, L.A. is making sure it won’t enter next season with the same core that failed to qualify for the playoffs this past season.
According to a report from Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry and Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors are among the players the Lakers have their eyes on.
From the Sporting News:
“The Lakers’ season collapsed after the pursuit of [Anthony] Davis, and the team’s young players felt hung out to dry. There’s not much chance Los Angeles wants to bring that group back intact.
The Lakers have other players they’re targeting in trades, according to league sources. Chief among them is Wizards guard Bradley Beal, though with the Wizards not yet hiring a front office honcho, no decision has been made whether to trade Beal. But LA will be in position to make an attractive offer if Beal is put on the block.
There’s also interest in point guard Kyle Lowry, who could be available if the Raptors lose Kawhi Leonard in free agency. Because of Lowry’s age (33) and contract ($33 million for next season), the Lakers could bring him in for a relatively limited outgoing package.
Another guy who, according to sources, the Lakers have an interest in is big man Derrick Favors. The Jazz have a team option on Favors that must be exercised by July 6 or he will be a free agent.”
Despite the way that their season ended, the Lakers still have some attractive, young assets that they could offer in potential trade packages — namely Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart in order to try to quickly turn things around. While those players might not yet be ready to win at the level that LeBron is ready to win at, they all still have promising careers ahead of them, and could net a nice return package for Los Angeles. The Lakers also have future draft picks that they could use to sweeten the pot, and they possess the fourth overall pick in the upcoming 2019 NBA Draft.
Davis may still be the top target for the Lakers, but as he is under Pelicans’ control until next summer, and they might not want to deal their star over to L.A. or anywhere in the West for that matter, Lakers fans should be happy that the organization has some backup plans in place.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
