Lakers rumors: Which veteran is best to trade before deadline?

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Dec 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jose Calderon (5) during their game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Lakers 113-80. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Age: 35

Exp: 11 years

Position: PG

Salary: $7.7M

It’s not that Calderon is a bad player, he’s obviously good enough to be in the NBA. However, his time with the Lakers is similar to when he was in New York on one major note — he doesn’t fit in.

With the team looking more towards their immediate future and young stars, Calderon making an impact is nothing short of an afterthought. Both he and Luol Deng were brought to Los Angeles in the hope that they’d become mentors.

https://twitter.com/JmCalderon/status/830274838078058496

Instead, the young core has found their own identity and the team is going somewhere soon.

With regard to his actual trade value, there’s a strong reason he’s at a D+ overall. He won’t get the Lakers much in return except for a potentially open roster spot and a chance to go all in on the young guys.

Obviously on the back end of his career, there’s a good chance Calderon won’t be playing much longer anyway.

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