Lakers: Three trade returns for a Clarkson-Randle package
By Jason Reed
On the surface, the prospects of acquiring Eric Gordon may not be all that intriguing. However, Gordon is an upgrade over Clarkson and would be the perfect shooting guard to replace Kentavious Caldwell-Pope next season. Gordon averaged 16.2 points, 2.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game coming off of the bench last season.
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Losing Randle in this deal would not be that big of a loss, either. We all saw how great Kyle Kuzma looked in the NBA Summer League. If he continues to play at a high level, trading Randle and promoting Kuzma may actually make the team better.
This deal isn’t necessarily about acquiring a star, instead, it is about making a significant upgrade with a key role player. The Lakers are actually taking in three million less with this deal, giving them $60 million to play with next offseason.
Now the Lakers have the space to bring in two stars next offseason while already having a pretty good lineup in place. If Kentavious Caldwell-Pope does indeed walk after this season the Lakers will be left to dry at shooting guard. This trade fixes that problem and fixes it with a veteran guard that can bring experience to this young core.
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Overall, the best bet for the Lakers may just be to trade both Clarkson and Randle. Clarkson is good, yes, but he is far overpaid. Randle is immensely talented, but Kuzma is knocking on the door. They have the talent to replace both guys, making this the easiest trade for the franchise.