The NBA trade deadline is next week, at noon PDT on Feb. 5, and there are dozens of teams in the league fighting for playoff and play-in position, including the Lakers and Clippers.
Will the Lakers look to trade either LeBron James, who for the first time in his career has an expiring contract after making $50 million this season, or Austin Reaves, who has a player option on a $15-million contract or could become a free agent seeking a big payday after his breakout to the start of the season? Not likely.
Are the Clippers in position to make a big move? After a woeful 6-21 start to the season, they went on a tear to join the Western Conference contenders.
Times staff writers Broderick Turner and Thuc Nhi Nguyen will tackle these topics and others in an NBA roundtable.
Q: Do you envision the Lakers making a big move?
BT: Let’s start with this: The Lakers will not be acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee, and he’s the biggest name out there when it comes to the trade chatter. The Bucks don’t sound inclined to want to move Antetokounmpo and he hasn’t requested a trade. He’s dealing with a right calf injury that will sideline him past the trade deadline.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo attemps a shot between Lakers forward Jake LaRavia (12) and center Deandre Ayton (5). (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
So, Laker fans, forget about that happening and that therefore means L.A. will not be making a big splash.
And don’t forget, the Lakers made a very big move last year when they got Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis, a first-round pick and other players in a three-team deal.
TN: The Lakers broke the NBA with that trade a year ago; a repeat event would be pretty outrageous, even for this franchise. After the trade that brought Doncic to L.A. completely reset the organization’s timetable, it makes more sense for this trade deadline — and the ensuing offseason — to be about recalibrating the finer points of the roster and salary sheet to set up for the true Doncic era.
Q: What is the most likely scenario for the Lakers?
BT: From talking to NBA executives and scouts who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, the most likely scenario for the Lakers is to make moves along the margins. NBA people say the Lakers are looking for big wing players, but they said so is most of the league.
According to some of those NBA folks, the names that have been attached to the Lakers as potential trade targets are Dallas’ Naji Marshall, a former Doncic teammate, Cleveland’s De’Andre Hunter, Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo and Sacramento’s Keon Ellis. New Orleans’ Troy Murphy III and Herbert Jones are two players the Lakers have shown some interest in — as have many other teams — but NBA people say the asking price is so high that teams are waiting to see if that comes down by the deadline next week.
Mavericks forward Naji Marshall pulls up for a jump shot against Lakers forward Jake LaRavia on Saturday. (Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
To make any of these deals, the NBA executives and scouts said, Lakers forward Rui Hachimura and his expiring $18-million contract is a name that comes up often as a tradeable player. Hachimura’s recent outstanding play has increased his trade value around the league, but it also has made the forward a very valuable player for the Lakers.
Lakers seldom-used guard Dalton Knecht has been a player that NBA people say L.A. is willing to move in a trade, along with a second-round pick attached to him to make it work.
TN: Knecht was playing with a lot of confidence through a brief stretch of this season, exhibited most by him taking charges in consecutive games against the Pelicans and the Spurs. But the Lakers have already shown they are comfortable parting with the former 17th overall pick. He was sent to Charlotte last year before the Mark Williams trade fell through.
Q: Can the Clippers make a big move?
BT: When the Clippers were 6-21, teams inquired about Ivica Zubac and were told the Clippers wanted multiple first-round picks for the 7-foot center, something no team was willing to do back then. Now that the Clippers are in the midst of a 15-3 run, the NBA executives and scouts said the Clippers are not looking to move Zubac, Kawhi Leonard or James Harden.
Those same NBA people said that the Clippers are looking for a pick-and-roll oriented point guard and that John Collins’ name has been mentioned as a trade candidate. Also, the Clippers are looking to convert the two-way contracts to standard NBA contracts for Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller and that could play a role in any deal they attempt to make.
Q: Who are the biggest names available on the trade market?
BT: Antetokounmpo, Memphis’ Ja Morant and Dallas’ Anthony Davis.
TN: And all of the big-name players are injured, complicating the trade market. Antetokounmpo is out with a calf injury he suffered on Jan. 23 and the team didn’t give a timetable for his return, although the star forward estimated for himself that he would be out for four to six weeks.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant may be one of the big-name players traded by next week. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Morant is sidelined for about three weeks because of an elbow injury. There’s been tension between the dynamic guard and head coach Tuomas Iisalo and some of that started after the Grizzlies lost to the Lakers in October in which Morant scored only eight points and was later suspended for one game for conduct detrimental to the team for postgame comments.
And Davis’ status has been up in the air since GM Nico Harrison was fired, but he’s now out because of an hand injury, the latest setback for the former Lakers big man.
Q: If the Lakers and Clippers do make upgrades to their rosters, what are their chances of making the playoffs?
BT: For the Lakers, as long as they have Doncic and James and with Reaves (calf injury) set to return perhaps as soon as Wednesday at Cleveland, they will probably finish in the top six, which are guaranteed positions in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Clippers have gone 10-3 in January, the best record in the NBA during that span, and are now the 10th seed in the West. They are most likely positioning themselves for a play-in spot, perhaps even home-court advantage if they climb to seventh.
TN: The Lakers, even with their defensive flaws, are already firmly in the playoff picture, although Phoenix could complicate matters by trying to butt into the top six. The Rockets, Lakers, Timberwolves and Suns are all separated by two games in the fourth to seventh positions. The feisty Suns have already given the Lakers fits this season.
Suddenly the hottest team in the league, the Clippers might simply back into the play-in tournament by default: Dallas, Memphis, Utah, Sacramento and New Orleans are the only teams behind them in the standings. Are any of those teams really going to make a late-season push?
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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