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Los Angeles Lakers: Trading for Bradley Beal would be a smart move

By Jason Reed

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 27: Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards reacts against the Toronto Raptors in the first half during Game Six of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 27, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 27: Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards reacts against the Toronto Raptors in the first half during Game Six of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 27, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers have been connected to several stars via trade over the last few weeks. One of which, Bradley Beal, would be a fun addition.

The Los Angeles Lakers have struck out on Kawhi Leonard, at least this season, and are still looking to add pieces around LeBron James. While the Lakers will likely be a top-three seed in the West with the current roster, the team needs to add some firepower alongside James to have a realistic shot at contending.

And that firepower could theoretically come down the line. The front office made sure to ink free agents this summer exclusively on one-year deals. This opens up the cap space for next summer as well as giving the Lakers easier contracts to trade at the deadline.

Or, that firepower could come this offseason as the Lakers look to make the most of their young core and bring in some established talent. Lakers’ fans do love the young core, so a trade would be met with mixed reviews, but in some instances, it would work out beautifully for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Trading for Washington Wizards’ shooting guard Bradley Beal is one of the instances in which it would work out beautifully.

Beal is one of several stars that the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly interested in this summer. Alongside Beal are the likes of Damian Lillard, DeMar DeRozan, John Wall and Kevin Love. Definitely some formidable names, however, Beal may be the best fit as well as one of the easier stars to trade for.

There was also a social media rumor that is picking up steam about the Lakers reportedly offering Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Luol Deng for Beal. While this should be taken with a very small grain of salt, it does introduce an interesting situation in LA.

While I do doubt these reports as they hold no real validity, at least not yet, I also think that if this trade package were to happen it would be great for the Los Angeles Lakers.

And yes, I already know you feel outraged reading this. Lakers’ fans hold Brandon Ingram very high and consider him a future all-star, perhaps even an all-star next season. Ingram will be an all-star eventually, sure, but if the Lakers want to win they need to sacrifice at least one young star.

With LeBron James on the roster, Ingram becomes the star easiest to sacrifice. James can play his natural small forward which would open the door for Kyle Kuzma at power forward. Kuzma did outplay Ingram last season, after all.

Giving up Josh Hart is a blow but a necessary one to improve. While Hart is also very promising, he will be a bench player at the end of the day and Beal is an obvious upgrade at the two guard.

This trade is so great for two reasons. First, you have the great fit of Bradley Beal on this Lakers roster. Beal does not need to be ball dominant to score and can play as a catch and shoot sharpshooter as well as someone who can create their own shots when needed.

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Beal has shown when John Wall is hurt that he has what it takes to take over an offense and produce. Beal dropped 51 points on 21-37 shooting last season against the Trail Blazers when Wall was sidelined.

Having an elite scoring guard like this with LeBron James is huge. James has always thrived having that great second scoring option in the backcourt (Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving) and Beal gives a similar look. With two distributors in Lonzo Ball and James, Beal’s impact would be huge.

Second of all, the Lakers would be getting rid of Luol Deng’s contract. And while the Lakers would be taking in nearly the exact same in salary, the salary would actually be useful.

Los Angeles would then have just under $30 million in practical cap space and $52 million in luxury tax space next summer — according to Spotrac.

Then, next summer, the Lakers can bring in the third star to create a formidable big three. Whether that is Kawhi Leonard or a resurgent DeMarcus Cousins will depend on the events of next season.

Next: Lakers: Top 30 Greatest Players of All-Time

All in all, this trade would be huge for the Los Angeles Lakers. I understand that certain fans would hate to see this happen but sometimes trading a young star is necessary. The Lakers traded Marc Gasol for Pau Gasol ten years ago and that worked out just fine.

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