Los Angeles Lakers: Five ways to get rid of Luol Deng this summer
By Jason Reed
NBA fans have a mixed bag of emotions about Lonzo Ball. Widely due to his father, Ball has massively high expectations placed above his head in his first season in LA. And quite frankly, Ball played pretty well and had a noticeable effect not only on the offense flow of the game but the all-around culture of the team.
But still, Ball’s quirky jump shot was not falling in his rookie year and led many to jump to criticizing him. The NBA is a scoring league now. For some, it does not matter that he nearly averaged a triple-double a game, the fact that he only averaged 10 points per game makes him a bench-quality guard. Again, to some.
Those critics would jump all over this trade. And if the Los Angeles Lakers wanted to contend now without giving up Brandon Ingram, this may be the next best bet.
Despite being named to the All-NBA First Team this season, Damian Lillard and the third-seeded Portland Trailblazers were unable to win a single playoff game. Thus, it may be decision-making time in Portland whether the team can really win with Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
These discussions may ultimately lead to trade talks. And while right now that is all speculation, the Los Angeles Lakers would be foolish not to jump into the discussion.
Los Angeles would be able to maintain the cap space and bring in a very intriguing piece for LeBron James. Every NBA Finals winning team that James has played on has had a great scoring guard that can take the pressure off of him. Lillard would literally be the perfect guard to pair with LeBron in LA.