Los Angeles Lakers: Three other trades to explore this summer

The chance of this trade happening is pretty slim as the Portland Trailblazers have a nice core consisting of Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. However, perhaps the Trailblazers front office will realize that there is a slim chance of overcoming any of the elite teams in the West and decide to part ways with their most valuable trade chip: Damian Lillard.

This was an idea we proposed prior to the offseason starting and an idea that Lillard only enticed with his “happy camper” tweet on Wednesday.

Of course, this tweet really does not mean much and Lillard responded to that claim in a later tweet, mocking how NBA media takes everything and turns it into a stretch.

And while the tweet was interesting to see, I do not think the tweet itself really means anything. The only way this deal is happening is if Portland is indeed shopping Lillard. If they are, the Lakers are probably the best trade candidate to consider.

I do not like this deal too much as it would have to include Kyle Kuzma, however, the Lakers can run LeBron at power forward and Brandon Ingram at small forward with Lillard and Hart manning the backcourt. This would leave the Lakers a little thin, however, rookie Moritz Wagner may step up as a huge three-point specialist in Kuzma’s absence.

LeBron has always thrived with a great guard that can help take the scoring pressure off late in games. Ball is not that scoring guard. LeBron has thrived with the likes of Kyrie Irving and Dwayne Wade for a reason; Lillard fits that mold perfectly.

Will it happen? Probably not. Would it lead to a better Lakers team next season? Probably.