The Brave News

by: Ryan Dwyer

After a series of injuries, the Lakers must think bold ahead of Thursday’s deadline in order to compete against teams like the Jazz, 76ers, Clippers and Nets.

Trade Away

Marc Gasol:

Marc Gasol is a player the Lakers were very high on coming into the season. Javale McGee, a player who for the past two years had provided very valuable shot blocking to the team was traded away in a move to allow cap space for the Gasol signing. However more than halfway into the season Marc has not shown up in the ways the lakers had been hoping for, he’s put out a very lackluster performance on the offensive side, and considering who the lakers traded away in order to acquire Gasol, his performance is well below the standards he should be meeting. The Lakers need a much better big man who can contribute more of a shot blocking presence and more of an inside threat then Gasol has proven to show this year. Had the Lakers decided to keep Javale instead of pursuing Gasol, they would be in a much better spot for their center position.

Kyle Kuzma:

Kyle Kuzma has shown an ability to shine when given the opportunity, especially with Anthony Davis out for an extended period of time. With Davis out of the lineup Kuzma has had the ability to play an extended amount of minutes at the forward position, contributing some very efficient defense, and giving some very solid shooting splits just as he did years prior. The problem however is that Kuzma should be the third option but while Davis has been healthy has not shown that he can put up that kind of a production on a consistent basis, he showed a lot of potential and a very wide set of skills in his first few Years on the team, but as time has passed has regressed somewhat. Whilst not putting up very impressive numbers consistently, he is still a very young and skilled player who could be a very valuable part of another teams future, should the Lakers trade him, they could receive a very solid batch of wither players of Picks in return. He could even be a large part of a trade package for a star player should the Lakers be looking to make a big move before the trade deadline.

Alfonzo McKinnie:

Given the Minutes that McKinnie is given during games he is by no means productive. McKinnie simply does not provide anything valuable to the Lakers rotation. As half of the trade that shipped Javale McGee away from L.A. he does not bring all that much to the team that they don’t already have. McKinnie does not excel on the offensive or defensive side of the game. Despite not necessarily being bad at those, he doesn’t play much of a significance in the Lakers plans this year. It would be a very wise decision to flip Alfonzo for a pick or two and most likely those picks would be second rounders. If that trade comes soon enough they could be certainly be used later down the line in a even bigger trade.

Trade For

Zach LaVine:

The Lakers despite coming off a championship just a few months ago, and being amongst the top teams in the western conference as of right now are in desperate need of a third star player as teams like Utah and Brooklyn have burst onto the scene this year, especially with a super team like Brooklyn bullying there way through the league. Seeing as Brookklyn is without a doubt the eastern conference favorites to make the finals, the Lakers in order to stand a chance against them must match their starpower, Making a move for Zach LaVine who has already shown he is one of the elite shooters of this league and who is an all around beast offensively would massively help the lakers whilst going up against teams like Brooklyn.

Victor Oladipo:

With the Brooklyn Nets having formed a super team unlike one we’ve ever seen, many members of the Lakers organization and their fan base believe that now is time to step up the teams fire power in order to compete for another championship this year. Victor Oladipo who is not only a two time all star but was the steals champion only 3 years ago, can provide a much need consistent go to 3rd option as far as scoring is concerned. Having Oladipo would give the Lakers a perimeter defense which would without a doubt be one of the best in the league. Oladipo provides a tight fast defensive coverage as versatile as any other star defender in the league. If the Lakers are able to land Oladipo on their roster, it would be a three headed monster between him, AD, and Lebron. Having that powerhouse trio while also having amazing perimeter defense, stopping a historically great defense such as that of the Brooklyn Nets could end up being a stroll.

Javale McGee:

With Marc Gasol being so underwhelming this season on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, the Lakers could really benefit from McGees shot blocking ability as having lost both him and Dwight Howard in the offseason. Both losses greatly diminished the Lakers defensive presence in the paint when going up against players like Giannis, Embiid, and Jokic. Javele’s presence could help reduce those type of impacts throughout the game. Javale would also provide a lob threat, which alongside the newly acquired Damian Jones would really help make the Lakers a more intimidating force to be reckoned with within the paint.