Lakers Rumors: LA Hoping Three-Time All-Star Becomes Available Via Trade

Will the Lakers have enough assets to swing a major deal?

Your Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly still holding out hope that they can make a trade for a third All-Star to pair with incumbents Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

Longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein writes in a new edition of his Substack newsletter that rival NBA teams are convinced LA would prefer to hold on to its two biggest trade assets, future first-round draft selections in 2027 and 2029, “in case a currently unforeseen shot to trade for a legitimate third star— like Washington’s Bradley Beal—materializes suddenly.”

The 6'4" Wizards shooting guard, a three-time All-Star, would certainly help LA score in bunches and is an above-average distributor for his position, but he wouldn't contribute in the arena Los Angeles needs help the most: perimeter defense. 

This season for Washington, the 29-year-old out of the University of Florida is averaging 23.5 points on .527/.343/.858 shooting splits, 5.2 assists, 3.6 rebounds and a steal across his 23 healthy games.

As the best player on his team, Beal has led his Wizards straight to the lottery across three of their past four seasons. The 16-21 Wizards look likely to be on that trajectory again this season, mired in the Eastern Conference's play-in tournament race.

Adding Beal would cost the Lakers a pretty penny. He inked a maximum five-year, $251 million deal with Washington as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Were the Wizards actually interested in moving on from their somewhat overvalued "franchise star," his $43.3 million salary this season could be flipped for reserve Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook's expiring $47.1 million deal. Westbrook's last NBA stop prior to LA, of course, was a season spent with the Wiz in 2020-21. Would Washington be amenable to moving on from Beal during the 2023 offseason (he can't be traded before then)? 

LA would be able to flip three draft picks: a 2023 first-rounder (the worse selection between LA's pick and the New Orleans Pelicans' pick), a 2027 first-rounder, and a 2029 first-rounder. Considering the ages of injury history of the Lakers' best players, those 2027 and 2029 selections could be pretty darn appetizing.