NBA Trade Rumors: John Wall To Lakers, Jordan Clarkson And Lou Williams To Wizards
NBA trade rumors are beginning to mount for the Los Angeles Lakers as the team is currently on an eight-game losing streak, dropping their record to 10-18 on the season. Sportsrageous reports that the Lakers could be considering the acquisition of John Wall, the Washington Wizards’ superstar point guard. The theory is that if Los Angeles can secure the services of Wall, they would then be in a position to reunite him with Sacramento Kings center and Wall’s Kentucky Wildcats college teammate, DeMarcus Cousins.
According to Lakers Nation, general manager Mitch Kupchak is not in a hurry to make a trade before the February 2017 trade deadline, but he is certainly willing to listen to offers and take action if the right deal comes along. One of the star players mentioned prominently as a potential target for the Lakers is John Wall, particularly if the Wizards continue their march toward the NBA Draft Lottery (the team presently sits at 10-14 in the Eastern Conference).
The latest NBA trade rumors are rumbling about a possible deal between the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards. The scenario being shared and discussed online is one in which the Lakers would receive John Wall, while Los Angeles would send combo guard Jordan Clarkson, shooting guard Lou Williams and two future first-round draft picks to Washington in this theoretical trade proposal.
If the ultimate goal is to make separate trades to obtain both John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins as some reports indicate, it makes evaluating the rumored John Wall trade more difficult since we don’t know how the roster would look if two deals are consummated. However, we can look at the potential John Wall trade, and then project what might have to happen if the Lakers want to pair him with Cousins.
If the Los Angeles Lakers made this trade, there would be some roster balance problems associated with the deal. Wall would be the point guard, but that would leave current Lakers starter D’Angelo Russell as a backup to Wall, which is not a great plan since Russell is a young star himself and needs major minutes on the court to continue his development. Los Angeles could try Russell at shooting guard, but he has never played that position in college or the NBA, so that would be a risk.
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Shipping out Lou Williams, who is having a terrific season so far, would leave the Lakers with only one true shooting guard: Nick Young. Again, the solution to this problem is predicated on whether D’Angelo Russell would be able to play in the backcourt with John Wall. While this would be an experiment, it does seem that Russell has the skills necessary to play off the ball and be a primary scorer, so it is not out of the question that this could work for Los Angeles.
When you add in two first-round draft choices to this hypothetical trade offer, the price starts looking pretty steep for the Lakers. However, it is difficult to bring in a superstar-caliber player for any price, and given that Mitch Kupchak might want to use John Wall as leverage to then add DeMarcus Cousins, it appears more likely than not that Los Angeles would agree to this deal if it were on the table.
From the Washington Wizards’ perspective, this trade doesn’t make much sense. Jordan Clarkson could potentially win the starting point guard job in Washington, but he would be a big step down from John Wall. Lou Williams is a dynamic scorer, but the Wizards have up-and-coming star Bradley Beal at shooting guard, so there wouldn’t be much playing time available for Williams if he joined the team.
On the plus side, the two future first-round draft picks could hold significant value, especially if they are not lottery-protected. Taking all of this into consideration, it doesn’t seem that Washington would go for this deal. As an aside, this would be a legal trade according to the ESPN NBA Trade Machine, but unless the Wizards just completely fall apart and feel it necessary to move John Wall and start over, it is doubtful they would be interested in this potential transaction.
Current NBA trade rumors are swirling that the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards could be contemplating a deal for superstar John Wall. The Lakers may go for this swap, but not without some reservations. The Wizards would say no unless things became very desperate in Washington. This particular trade scenario may not be likely to happen, but the saga of the Wizards and John Wall is something worth watching as we move toward the NBA trade deadline.
[Featured Image by Nick Wass/AP Images]
