Los Angeles Lakers Receive: F Thaddeus Young, CHI 2024 1st Round Pick (Lottery-Protected)
Chicago Bulls Receive: G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, G/F Talen Horton-Tucker, LAL 2023 2nd Round Pick
With the Lakers being $24.8M over the salary cap already and the fact that Thaddeus Young is owed $13.5M this season and $14.2M next season, the only player that the Lakers could trade away to make the finances work is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Los Angeles just gave Caldwell-Pope a three-year, $39M contract this past offseason and he has been a key role player in their starting lineup, but Thaddeus Young could really help this team in terms of frontcourt depth, something they do not have much of even with Anthony Davis.
The Lakers signed Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell this past offseason, creating what was believed to be one of the top frontcourts in the league, but things have not shaped out the way L.A. had hoped. Harrell is still a really solid player, but his production is way down this year than it was with the Clippers last year and Marc Gasol has been very inefficient at times this year.
As a result, the Lakers do not have much consistency in their frontcourt without Anthony Davis, which is why adding Thaddeus Young could be a strong move to make for the defending champions. It would cost them a solid amount of value though.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is currently averaging 8.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and is shooting 39.2% from three-point range on the season. Not only could he be a steady rotational player for the Bulls on the wing, but he is a proven champion and could be a great veteran presence for a young team like Chicago.
RELATED: NBA Trade Rumors: 4 teams in real need of making a change at the NBA trade deadline
Talen Horton-Tucker on the other hand is a player that the Lakers really like moving forward, but would have to be included in this trade unless the Lakers want to send the Bulls a future first-round pick. THT has a lot of potential to grow into a very solid wing in this league and is yet another young player the Bulls could utilize on their roster.
The defending champs need some more frontcourt production and the Bulls need to continue filling out their roster with high-level talent and young players, which is why this trade seems reasonable. With that said, let’s take a closer look as to why this trade makes sense for both the Lakers and the Bulls.
