Los Angeles Lakers: Three midseason trades to get rid of Luol Deng

By Jason Reed | Aug 19, 2018

DURHAM, NC - MAY 31: Former Duke basketball player Luol Deng sits down for SiriusXM's Town Hall With Hall Of Fame Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Bill Brill Media Room in Cameron Indoor Stadium on May 31, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images for SiriusXM) /

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(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

The Phoenix Suns are on the rise with a young core consisting of Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and Josh Jackson. While Phoenix is still a few years away from being a playoff contender, the front office has built something extremely promising that could pan out quite nicely in the near future.

With the addition of Ayton, the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Suns now have the flexibility to trade Tyson Chandler and his expiring contract.

This trade cannot go wrong for the Suns, who are only sacrificing half a season or so of Chandler, who is going to have a reduced role with the addition of Ayton. Essentially, the Suns are getting a first-round pick for taking on a contract for one more full season.

With no real chance of landing a superstar in next year’s free agent pool, this move works towards the future as well as opens the door completely for Ayton.

This trade would also even make the Lakers better in the sense that they would get the size needed at center and a nice shot blocker and rim finisher. While Chandler is not the same player he was five years ago, he could be a huge asset for the Lakers once the postseason hits.

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