Lakers: Team makes key signing after impressive Summer League; latest news, rumors & more
By Jason Reed
There may be a possibility of trading Brook Lopez
Zack Buckley of Bleacher Report recently did a great article on five trade deadline deals the Lakers may pull the string on, you can find it here. One of the deals that they mention is perhaps swapping their expiring center, Brook Lopez, in exchange for another expiring center, Greg Monroe.
Now, this makes perfect sense for both parties involved. Monroe has been reportedly shopped by the Bucks for quite some time now and could use this deal as a salary dump. Taking it one step further than Buckley did, the Lakers and Bucks could orchestrate a three team deal that would allow both the Lakers and Milwaukee to get contract space.
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Los Angeles could send Lopez to the Bucks and Jordan Clarkson to the Chicago Bulls. Milwaukee would send Monroe to the Lakers and Matthew Dellavedova to the Bulls while Chicago would send Dwayne Wade to the Lakers. Wade has been a reported target of the Lakers before, and now, could find himself in Los Angeles.
Most importantly, Los Angeles should receive a first round pick from the Bucks in the 2018 NBA Draft, something they don’t already have. Although the pick would likely be in the middle of the round, it is still key if they want to continue from the ground up.
As an added bonus, the Lakers get to dump the salary of Clarkson. Clarkson is a fan favorite, but the Lakers have explored trades for the young guard. Now, the Lakers would essentially have around $50 million in cap space next offseason.
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Wade and Monroe aren’t chips of the block, either. Los Angeles’ game plan this season is to surround Ball with as many weapons to help him grow as possible, Wade and Monroe fit that narrative.