Even with the best record in the entire Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are still among the teams that are expected to be active in the lead-up to the February 6 NBA trade deadline. Several reports have suggested that the team might make a deal to improve their point guard rotation, and the latest one suggests that the Lakers may be among the better trade destinations for Detroit Pistons backup Derrick Rose.
In a report from Fadeaway World that listed the five most likely landing spots for Rose if the Pistons decide to move him before the trade deadline, the publication mentioned the Lakers as a possibility, noting that their search for a capable playmaker is “probably the league’s worst-kept secret.” It was also pointed out that the team’s current point guard rotation features the “unplayable” Rajon Rondo, as well as Avery Bradley, a combo guard who has been playing like a “shell” of his old self since moving to Los Angeles last summer.
“Rose, even at this stage, checks every box for them,” Fadeaway World explained. “He is a veteran who knows how to play the game, can create shots for others with his driving and scoring ability, and (more importantly) gives them another option besides Rondo, [Alex] Caruso, and Bradley.”
Derrick Rose floats it in to put Detroit ahead for good!
Final in Cleveland: @DetroitPistons 115 @cavs 113 pic.twitter.com/YD8WNxFnD3
— NBA (@NBA) January 8, 2020
While the outlet did not go into detail on how the Pistons might benefit from such a deal, Fadeaway World recommended a trade that would send Rose to Los Angeles in exchange for three players — DeMarcus Cousins, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Quinn Cook. This transaction, as noted, would allow Detroit to push forward with its rumored rebuilding project, one which has been talked about frequently amid the team’s struggles in the Eastern Conference, where they sit at 11th with a 14-27 record.
As seen on the Lakers’ Basketball-Reference team page, Caldwell-Pope has started 20 out of 40 games at shooting guard, posting averages of 9.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists as one of the team’s top bench players. Cook, a free-agent signee last summer who won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2018, has played a far less prominent role, averaging five points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.
Cousins, a former All-Star center/forward who has missed most of the past two seasons due to injuries, is widely expected to sit out the entire 2019-20 campaign for the Lakers due to a torn ACL. However, as previously reported by The Inquisitr , head coach Frank Vogel is hopeful that he might return “at some point” this season, perhaps in time for the playoffs.
