The NBA trade deadline is only a few weeks away with rumors starting to run rampant around the league about which players may be available in trade talks. Nerlens Noel of the Philadelphia 76ers is one of the notable players that has been rumored to be available when teams come calling leading up to the trade deadline on Feb. 23.
According to Sean Deveney of Sporting News, the Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly show interest in trading for Noel:
The Lakers have inserted themselves on trade talks this season and will continue to do so. They had talks with Atlanta about Paul Millsap and expressed interest in Nerlens Noel, if the Sixers decide to go ahead with a deal for him.
Although the Lakers may have shown an interest in potentially acquiring Noel from the 76ers, trades don’t seem to be a priority for general manager Mitch Kupchak. The 62-year-old has said on more than one occasion that the team likely won’t be making any moves ahead of the deadline, but hasn’t ruled out a deal.
One thing that may prevent a move by the Lakers is their reluctance to part ways with their young core. Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, and Brandon Ingram seem to be safe, but that doesn’t mean a deal won’t happen with other players on the squad.
With more than a month left before the NBA trade deadline, all signs point to the Lakers standing pat. The Lakers could very well be a playoff team this season with players that appear to fit into Luke Walton’s system. Outside of Luol Deng’s rough to start to his stint with the Lakers, no player has really stood out as simply not fitting on this roster.
That being said, a trade seems highly unlikely, but not impossible as scenarios can change over the course of the next few weeks.
