The Los Angeles Lakers are going to have a busy offseason. After losing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs for the first time in his career, you know LeBron James will be motivated to return to contender status next season. The front office will as well and they will assuredly be aggressive in doing so.
While many fans hold out hope that the organization can snag a star who wants to get traded to a new situation, like Anthony Davis two years ago, the team just doesn’t have the assets to compete with other offers around the league. That means they will have to get creative when upgrading the roster.
One way they can do that is via a sign-and-trade. While a sign-and-trade would hard cap the Lakers, it is likely the easiest way to upgrade the roster, as they will not have the cap space to land impact players in NBA free agency. One player that could be a target for them is DeMar DeRozan, and he’s already been linked in NBA trade rumors per our own Evan Massey.
The San Antonio Spurs leading man is heading into NBA free agency and the soon-to-be 32-year old represents an intriguing target for Los Angeles. It would be a homecoming of sorts for the Compton native who also played collegiately at USC.
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With the two organizations heading in different directions, as the Lakers are in win-now mode and the Spurs could be looking at embracing starting anew around some younger players, this could be a match.
Let’s take a look at the hypothetical trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.