Lakers Rumors: Trading For 2 Bulls Stars Would Come At A Hefty Cost For LA
Your Los Angeles Lakers head to the Paycom Center tomorrow night in the midst of a miserable four-game losing streak, and losers of five of their last six.
The club has been reeling ever since winning the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament, though their 7-0 run in tournament games stands in stark contrast to their 9-14 record the rest of the time. Overall, LA is 15-14 and currently the 10th seed in the West. Even being a play-in team is no sure thing, as there are 11 competitive clubs vying for that honor (12 if you're optimistic about Memphis with Ja Morant back -- I'm not).
It's clear that D'Angelo Russell is being drastically overcompensated. LA's starting point guard is earning $17.3 million this year, but his defensive shortcomings, ball stopping and occasionally ill-timed passes make him too much of a liability for Darvin Ham to ever give him much run in fourth quarters. He's got to go.
Sam Amick of The Athletic reports that the Lakers have two intriguing Chicago Bulls trade targets top of mind, but they may not be who you'd expect.
Though LA has often been linked to Klutch Sports client and UCLA alum Zach LaVine, a two-time All-Star shooting guard with Chicago, Los Angeles is especially intrigued by All-Star Chicago small forward DeMar DeRozan and a reunion with All-Defensive Team guard Alex Caruso. DeRozan would address two massive needs for LA (creation and playmaking in that big wing spot when LeBron James sits, but also as someone who could absolutely serve as a supplemental scoring weapon alongside him), while Caruso would elevate LA's perimeter defense, which has been struggling thanks in part to long-term injury absences for Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt earlier this year (they're back now, but they don't look quite up to speed yet).
Amick cautions that the Bulls would at least want upstart LA shooting guard Austin Reaves, the team's third-best player despite his current Manu Ginobili designation as an energy-changing reserve, back in any deal. Reaves becomes trade-eligible on January 15th.
Obviously, LA would rather offload Russell, not Reaves. But would Chicago be amenable to that exchange?
