After a 2-5 start to the 2018-19 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers have turned it around and are currently 16-10. With their recent win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers currently have sole possession of the fifth spot in an extremely competitive Western Conference.
After struggling with defense and rebounding, the Tyson Chandler signing completely changed the team’s outlook. Chandler’s arrival was a bit of good fortune as the Phoenix Suns opted to buy him out and waived the 36-year-old early on in the season.
As the Suns are the worst team in the NBA, Trevor Ariza is an ideal candidate to be traded and the Lakers are interested, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
The Los Angeles Lakers are engaged in talks trying to acquire Phoenix Suns forward Trevor Ariza, league sources told ESPN.
While there are a lot of moving parts, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will likely be involved in a potential three-team deal:
The teams have been working to reach an agreement with a third team that would take on Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as part of a potentially larger deal, league sources said.
Ariza, who previously played two seasons with the Lakers and won one championship, would be a significant upgrade as a 3-and-D player. With the 33-year-old only signing a one-year, $15 million deal in free agency, he would not impact the team’s cap space for 2019 free agency.
As the Lakers are looking to win now, Ariza would immediately help while Caldwell-Pope would have an opportunity to play major minutes elsewhere.
