The NBA trade deadline is drawing near. Teams around the league have until Feb. 23 to made deals with the consensus being that the Los Angeles Lakers will likely be standing pat with no moves expected to be made.
According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the Lakers may at least be open to making a deal before the trade deadline in coming weeks:
They are in fact finding mode now. Was told Lakers open to trades but anything involving young guys is very pricey. https://t.co/SZVwFvBd0a
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) February 4, 2017
All signs point to the Lakers brass keeping the roster intact for the rest of the season. The storied franchise hasn’t been mentioned as a potential destination for the biggest names on floating around in recent trade rumors like DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, and Carmelo Anthony, but that can quickly change.
As Kyler points out, the team may be willing to part ways with parts of their talented young core, but it’ll come at a high price to interested parties. Although the price may be high, the Lakers are seemingly open for business with some attractive assets available.
The most recent trade rumor involving the Lakers has the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly interested in acquiring veteran point guard Jose Calderon. The Cavaliers have been desperately looking for another playmaker with even LeBron James lobbying for the team to make a move.
Former Laker Jordan Farmar recently worked out for the Cavaliers and is willing to sign a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers potentially giving them another point guard to backup Kyrie Irving. Calderon, who rarely sees time on the floor for the Lakers this season, makes a lot of sense for Cleveland, but the question is what Los Angeles would receive in return.
With more than two weeks left until the NBA trade deadline, it’ll be interesting to see whether the Cavaliers’ interest in Calderon is for real and if the Lakers have any other trade scenarios potentially in the works.
