Los Angeles Lakers: Three trade targets not named Kawhi Leonard
By Jason Reed
C.J. McCollum, SG, Portland Trail Blazers
Trading for C.J. McCollum would essentially serve the same purpose as trading for Bradley Beal. While I would argue that Beal is the superior shooting guard, McCollum is an underrated guard in today’s league and could be a huge piece of a superstar team as a second scoring option behind someone like LeBron James.
Our FanSided sister site, King James Gospel, wrote about how McCollum could be a huge trade target for the Cleveland Cavaliers to keep LeBron James around. Instead of trading for McCollum and staying in Cleveland, though, there is a better chance of both McCollum and James finding their way to Los Angeles.
It is just much easier for the Los Angeles Lakers to trade for McCollum than it would be for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only do the Lakers have much more cap space, they have expendable young assets that the Cavaliers simply cannot match.
In trading a young star and Luol Deng, the Lakers would essentially have the exact same flexibility; allowing them not only to bring in James as well but to re-sign Julius Randle to the contract he deserves and either bring in one more star or several other depth pieces.
McCollum is locked down for three more seasons. And while the Trail Blazers may not be actively shopping him, it could also be time for a change of pace after being swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the New Orleans Pelicans.