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The LA Lakers are reportedly keeping an eye on the struggling Chicago Bulls as the NBA trade deadline approaches.
In other news, former Lakers trade target Cam Reddish has been made available for trade again, providing the Lakers with another trade option.
On that note, here are the latest rumors surrounding the LA Lakers as of Dec. 8, 2022.
LA Lakers keeping an eye on Chicago Bulls as trade deadline approaches
Despite their last two losses with a shorthanded roster, the LA Lakers have still been trending up big time since their 2-10 start. This has afforded the team more time to assess their trade options, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“I think this stretch has bought them a little bit of time now to really not have to rush into anything,” Wojnarowski said.
“Their strategy remains the same, which is, we know what their assets are: the ’27 and ’29 unprotected first-round picks. They’re not going to use the picks unless they can get back essentially an All-Star-level player. And it remains to be seen if those kind of players are available at the deadline,” Wojnarowski continued.
Wojnarowski then added that the struggling Chicago Bulls are one team in particular that the Lakers are monitoring as a potential trade partner.
“Like a lot of teams, I think the Lakers will watch Chicago to see if that is an organization that decides it might pivot before the trade deadline,” Wojnarowski said.
Despite winning their last game against a shorthanded Wizards team, Chicago is still just 10-14 and 12th in the Eastern Conference. Considering the Bulls have a win-now roster constructed around veteran stars Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, that is less than ideal. So it wouldn’t come as a surprise to most NBA fans to see the Bulls blow things up and rebuild.
Cam Reddish back on trade market for LA Lakers to pursue
The LA Lakers have been involved in a ton of trade rumors over the past couple of seasons. One player they have long been connected to is former No. 10 pick, Cam Reddish. The Lakers were previously interested in Reddish when he was made available by Atlanta last season. Reddish has since been traded to New York, where he is now available again, via the New York Daily News.
Reddish has fallen out of favor in New York and is now out of the Knicks' rotation. But he has still shown flashes of being a productive wing player in the NBA. So if the Lakers are still interested, they may be able to buy low on the 23-year-old.
Reddish is averaging 8.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game on 44.0% shooting through 20 games. He is also on a trade-friendly, expiring $5.95 million deal.
NBA analyst believes LA Lakers are more likely to go all-in on this season following Anthony Davis’ resurgence
LA Lakers All-Star forward Anthony Davis missed the last two games with an illness. But prior to that, Davis was playing as well as ever for the Lakers. Davis even totaled 99 points over a two-game span with back-to-back season-highs of 44 and 55 points. As a result, many believe the Lakers should now make some moves to contend this season. This includes Bleacher Report NBA analyst Eric Pincus, who recently outlined why the team is now more likely to go all-in on this season.
“Up until recently, the front office was close to letting this year’s Lakers die on the vine,” Pincus said.
“Rather than ship out Russell Westbrook and one or both of their available future first-round picks (2027 and 2029) to bolster a lost cause, the Lakers seemed resigned to waiting to shop for bigger upgrades around the 2023 draft and free agency. Los Angeles has preserved roughly $30-35 million in cap space for this upcoming summer.
"But this recent surge makes a trade more likely than the alternative. Going for it this season is more of an option with Davis playing this well, picks and future cap space be damned,” Pincus continued.
The Lakers are still just 10-14 and 13th in the Western Conference. However, considering they started the season just 2-10, they have made a huge improvement. Davis averaged 31.9 points, 14.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.6 blocks per game over his last 10 games. So as Pincus mentioned, it is now much more reasonable to expect a big move from the Lakers at some point this season.
