Lakers trade rumors: DeAndre Jordan could be the answer

The abundance of Lakers trade rumors have all been around freeing up contracts. However, the Lakers may be pressed to bring in a contract instead.

The summer of 2018 looks to be big for the Los Angeles Lakers — if the latest Lakers trade rumors come to fruition. Los Angeles seemingly is holding a yard sale, specifically for Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle, to make cap space for a summer spending spree.

That summer spending spree has been linked to LeBron James. It has been linked to Paul George. Heck, even DeMarcus Cousins has become a potential option — which now could be doable as his asking price will fall.

Nothing in the recent Lakers trade rumors signals that the team wants to bring in any sort of big contract that lasts past 2018. That is the entire reason why Clarkson may be out the door; he’s solid, but not worth $25 million over the next two seasons. At least not with the Lakers’ future spending habits.

While it may not make perfect sense on paper, the NBA is not run with a pen and a notepad. Thus, the prospects of acquiring DeAndre Jordan become interesting.

Jordan is definitely on his way out. With the Clippers trading Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons, Jordan’s tenure in LA is coming to a close. The Clippers’ trade block is full of DeAndre Jordan rumors. With his entire team stripped down, there is no one left but him to trade.

Zach Lowe of ESPN brought up this argument. On The Lowe Post podcast, Lowe said the following regarding the possibility of Jordan coming to the Lakers (h/t HoopsHype):

"“The other avenue for [the Lakers] is if you don’t think you are going to get those two max guys, get someone in the door now who’s good. Use that to try to get the next one. If I were them, I’d look at DJ. He’s not a star, but he is someone a lot of people would like to play with.”"

He has a point, and quite frankly, Lowe makes a lot of sense. The Los Angeles Lakers are banking on this idea that these proverbial superstars, these max guys, will come and want to play with Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball.

Now, there is nothing wrong with Ingram, Kuzma and Ball but they are nowhere near title-contending level. The window is closing for some of these max guys, they cannot be apart of another slow-building team. They need wins now. The only way to do that is for each star to agree to partner up in LA. They can do that anywhere with cap space.

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However, with DeAndre Jordan you get a better foundation, to rely on. Los Angeles no longer needs to max guys either. Instead, one max guy and solid bench pieces are enough. Ball, Ingram and Kuzma are only going to get better; all three could be all-star level next year.

The Lakers would still have enough cap space to pull this off. A simple swap of Brook Lopez and DeAndre Jordan is the deal to make now. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Julius Randle and Corey Brewer account for $29 million in cap space. One Jordan Clarkson trade later and the Lakers have just under $42 million in spending money at the least.

That is more than enough to bring in LeBron James and a suitable backup point guard. Like in every LeBron team, they can bring in a veteran point guard and a three-point specialist off the bench. A transition for Brandon Ingram cements the team.

Then, the Lakers have a starting five of Ball, Ingram, James, Kuzma and Jordan. With a bench along the lines of Ivica Zubac, Larry Nance Jr, Rajon Rondo, Gerald Green and Luol Deng.

Next: Why a Clarkson to Cleveland deal makes sense

None of this is guaranteed. It is all hypothetical. However, that is a team that can compete for the NBA Championship. Hopefully, DeAndre Jordan enters the Lakers trade rumors in the coming days.

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