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The LA Lakers could reportedly make a run at former No.1 pick Andrew Wiggins during next year’s free agency.
In other news, Lakers superstar LeBron James did not put pressure on the team’s front office to get Russell Westbrook traded to the Indiana Pacers.
Here are the latest rumors involving the LA Lakers as of Thursday, October 6, 2022.
LA Lakers could make a run at former No. 1 pick
The LA Lakers didn’t make any big moves this past offseason. However, next offseason, the team is projected to have anywhere from $30 million to $35 million in cap space. The Lakers will reportedly attempt to use this cap space to sign a reliable third option behind stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
In a recent report, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic listed some possible free agent targets for the Lakers next summer. One of those names that is starting to gain some traction is Warriors All-Star forward and former No. 1 pick, Andrew Wiggins.
"As it stands, the Lakers only have James ($46.9 million), Davis ($40.6 million) and rookie Max Christie ($1.7 million) under contract for the 2023-24 campaign. With the salary cap projected to be $134 million, Los Angeles could create upwards of $30 million to $35 million or so in cap space," the report said.
"Notable free agents could include Khris Middleton (player option), Fred VanVleet (player option), Andrew Wiggins, Tyler Herro (restricted) and Jordan Poole (restricted)," the report continued.
It will certainly be interesting to see what Andrew Wiggins' value will be in free agency. Wiggins will make $33.6 million this season. This marks the final year of his five-year, $147.7 million contract that he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves back in 2017. Since Wiggins signed that deal, his perceived value has been up and down. However, after coming off his first All-Star selection and an NBA title, his value is currently as high as ever.
Last season, Wiggins posted averages of 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on 46.6% shooting over 73 games for the Warriors.
For The Athletic's full report on the LA Lakers, click here.
LeBron James didn’t apply pressure on the LA Lakers' front office to complete Russell Westbrook trade
The LA Lakers were reportedly involved in trade discussions with the Indiana Pacers all offseason. The teams’ trade talks centered around different iterations of trades, involving Russell Westbrook and the Lakers' 2027 and 2029 first round picks. In exchange, the Lakers would receive sharpshooter Buddy Hield and stretch-five Myles Turner.
A deal hasn’t happened because the Lakers do not want to include both of their firsts without getting some second-round draft compensation back in return. The Pacers, meanwhile, do not want to include any additional draft compensation in a deal.
Many assumed that LeBron James has been heavily involved in the trade talks, putting pressure on the Lakers to get a deal done. James has been known to be an advocate for his teams making win-now moves in the past. According to Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, James did not pressure the Lakers to complete the deal.
"In addition, James has shown support publicly and privately to integrating Westbrook and playing with the former league MVP again this season, and multiple sources said he applied no pressure to the Lakers front office to do the Pacers’ deal," the report said.
So it looks like LeBron James and the LA Lakers are set to enter the regular season with their roster as is. The team’s star trio of James, Davis and Westbrook will look to redeem themselves after coming off a disastrous 33-49 season.
Proposed mid-season trade lands LA Lakers starting caliber big man
The LA Lakers may be unlikely to make a trade before the start of the regular season. However, that hasn’t stopped speculation about some potential mid-season trades the Lakers could pull off. In one of his latest articles, "Heavy’s" Sean Deveney has suggested a trade involving the Orlando Magic that he believes the Lakers should strongly consider.
The Lakers signed guard Lonnie Walker IV and center Damian Jones over the summer. This means they cannot be traded until December, at the earliest. So Deveney thinks the Lakers should wait and eventually offer Walker IV, Jones and their 2027 first-round pick to the Magic for center Mo Bamba.
Bamba offers a very similar skillset to the Pacers' Myles Turner as a shot-blocking stretch-five. So it makes sense for the Lakers to make a move for Bamba to try to improve their shooting and defense.
An Eastern Conference executive reportedly told Deveney that Bamba would be the perfect trade target for the Lakers.
"I think, if you are a team like the Lakers and you’ve been so careful with the two picks they have (2027 and 2029), a young player like Bamba, that is why you save those picks if he becomes available," the executive said.
Last season, Bamba averaged 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks for the Orlando Magic.
He signed a two-year, $20.6 million contract with the Magic this summer, and he can’t be traded until January. But Bamba will certainly be an interesting player to watch as a potential LA Lakers trade target as the season progresses.
