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NBA Trade Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers Could Be Looking At Nerlens Noel While Setting Up For Potential Spending Spree In 2017

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 01:47 PST, Jul 24, 2016

The Los Angeles Lakers are churning the NBA trade rumor mill this summer, with reports that the team is looking to kick off the post-Kobe Bryant era by snagging Nerlens Noel from the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Lakers have been active in the lead-up to Kobe’s retirement and the summer that has followed, setting up for a rebuild that the team hopes will place it back among the contenders in the Western Conference. One of the rumored moves is a deal with the 76ers that would see big man Nerlens Noel heading to Los Angeles.

The deal would seem to make sense from Philadelphia’s perspective, Fansided noted. Noel is a restricted free agent in the upcoming season, and the Sixers have a crowded frontcourt that could be cleared up a bit with Noel’s departure.

It would also be the kind of move the Lakers are looking for this summer. The team is set up to have more than $30 million to spend in free agency next year, so this offseason they have been working around the edges a bit to improve.

That was the motivation earlier this month when the Lakers swung a deal with the Chicago Bulls for guard Jose Calderon, just two weeks after the Bulls had acquired him in the Derrick Rose trade.

The 34-year-old Calderon is unlikely to be shouldering the load for the Los Angeles Lakers, but will provide a steady hand in the backcourt. Calderon is averaging just a hair under 10 points a game for his career, and is a career 41.2 percent three-point shooter.

“Not only is José an elite shooter, he is also an established and versatile player whose skill and professionalism will supplement the talent on our roster,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told NBA.com.

The NBA trade rumors are suggesting the Lakers will shoot for Nerlens Noel because of how well he would fit into the team’s salary cap, Silver Screen and Roll noted.

“So, before you jump on the trade machine to find an impact player in the $13 million range, look instead at guys in the final year of their deal on teams that would benefit from dumping that salary,” the report noted.

But there are still some difficulties to the potential trade, Fansided added, including just what the Los Angeles Lakers would be able to send to the Sixers.

The tough part would be figuring out what the Lakers would offer in return. It really seems like Sixers fans wouldn’t take anything less than Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell, or Jordan Clarkson for Noel, but there is no way the Lakers will do that type of a deal. Although the fans don’t run the team by any means, Bryan Colangelo has shown that he’s not going to be handing out his big men for nothing, and he seems to be overvaluing them a bit given the current market for big men.

There have been plenty of other NBA trade rumors being generated by the Los Angeles Lakers, including some potentially larger moves. A report last week suggested that the team may be interested in making a run at Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, taking advantage of the shake-up that took place in the wake of Kevin Durant leaving for the Golden State Warriors.

There are also rumors that the Lakers could be among the teams in line to trade for DeMarcus Cousins, who appears to be on the way out with the Sacramento Kings.

There may not be much substance to those NBA trade rumors, but it could be a very different story next offseason when the Los Angeles Lakers have a mountain of cash to play with and some big-name players set to become free agents.

[Photo by Matt Slocum/AP Images]

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