Russell Westbrook looks like he will be staying put with the Lakers while there are two teams to keep a close eye on ahead of the trade deadline.
Here is all the latest trade chatter in the NBA Rumor Mill!
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Fri, 16 Dec
Friday December 16th
LAKERS’ WESTBROOK FADES AS ‘DREAM SCENARIO’ REALITY
When this season tipped off, it looked increasingly likely that Russell Westbrook would be on another team sooner rather than later.
Moving Westbrook on was going to be a tricky proposition though given his massive contract while his trade value was also still low.
Now though, with Westbrook improving in his new role off the bench, it is instead looking like the 34-year-old will be staying put at the Lakers for this season.
LeBron winds back the clock with a double play 00:43
That is according to The Athletic’sSam Amick, who reported on Friday that the days of Westbrook being viewed as the main reason for the team’s struggles “appear to be over”.
“And that welcome development, it appears, has shifted the Lakers’ focus during this trade season that is just getting started,” Amick added.
“… There’s also a strong sense that the Lakers believe Westbrook’s contributions will only improve from here.”
Also contributing to this development is the fact that it appears the Lakers are close to giving up on the hope of a genuine difference-maker becoming available before the February 9 trade deadline.
“There’s always a never-say-never qualifier to trade stories this time of year, but the other element in play here is that the Lakers’ dream scenario — a star player becoming available in these early months — is still nothing more than a fantasy ,” Amick added.
“Whether it’s DeMar DeRozan or Zach Lavine in Chicago, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Oklahoma City, Bradley Beal in Washington or other players of that ilk, there is no Anthony Davis-esque scenario emerging like the one Lakers benefited from when he asked out of New Orleans in the summer of 2019.”
Instead, the Lakers have turned their attention towards Detroit’s Bojan Bogdanović and New York’s Cam Reddish and Evan Fournier.
Westbrook’s fit does still remain an issue, but there is little doubt that he has been more productive since becoming a sixth man, averaging 15.2 points, 7.9 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 turnovers.
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‘HOPING THEY FALL OFF’: THE ONE TEAM EVERYONE IS WATCHING
Meanwhile, one team to monitor ahead of the trade deadline is the Toronto Raptors, according to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus.
In his latest trade intel, Pincus claims that rival teams are hoping the Raptors “will fall off and focus on building a new core around second-year forward Scottie Barnes”.
“The number of teams interested in their players is too long to list,” Pincus added.
It has been a strange start to the season for the 13-15 Raptors, who would have had high expectations for their squad, which rates as one of the most versatile in the league.
Scottie Barnes has run into sophomore struggles while Fred VanVleet’s uncharacteristically poor shooting has been a headache the Raptors hardly needed.
Meanwhile, one source told Bleacher Report last week that VanVleet and OG Anunoby are two players rival teams are keeping a particularly close eye on.
“The timeline of their players don’t match,” the source said.
“They have good players, but it will be interesting to see how they navigate with OG [Anunoby] and Fred [VanVleet].”
The latest report though claimed Gary Trent Jr. is the one player who may be available in trade talks ahead of the deadline.
Trent has an $18.6 million player option this offseason and Toronto is yet to make a move to extend him, with one source telling Bleacher Report“I don’t think they want to keep Trent.”
Raptors coach Nick Nurse only last month touched on Trent’s struggles on the defensive end while speaking to the media.
“It’s disappointing,” he said at the time.
“We’d like to get him a lot more aggressive on defense this year. I would say that’s been… it’s been a little bit of a negative. He’s capable of really getting after the ball and getting his hands on the ball a lot, and that’s what we want him to do.
“We’re going to get him his shots and get him his points, but we want him to be a disruptor. He kinda fits us if he does that, and if he doesn’t, he doesn’t fit us. We need to get him back.
Otherwise, recent reports seem to suggest Trent could be expendable.
THE FALLEN GIANT WHO COULD ‘BLOW IT UP’
Another team to keep an eye on according to reports is the Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls have been one of the biggest disappointments this season, currently sitting in 11th in the Eastern Conference with an 11-16 record that puts them two wins ahead of the Magic.
Chicago may have given up a lot to trade for Nikola Vucevic ahead of the 2021 deadline but it is looking increasingly likely that expectations now need to be reassessed.
While the Bulls reportedly have no interest in trading DeMar DeRozan, he still remains a valuable asset and there are suggestions that the Lakers have discussed a move for the five-time All-Star.
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The Lakers also reportedly have interest in Vucevic, who is in the final year of his four-year, $100 million contract and set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Bill Simmons suggested the Lakers and Bulls could be logical trade partners on his most recent podcast, with LA still in win-now mode while LeBron James remains healthy.
NBA reporter Zach Lowe, meanwhile, added that he had heard that the Lakers had “internal discussions” about a possible move for either DeRozan or Vucevic.
“The trade I saw on Twitter was Russ and both picks, one with light protections I think for DeRozan and Vucevic,” Lowe said on his podcast.
“I can tell you 100 percent for sure that the Lakers have had internal discussions about that very possibility, if it would ever come up. Not that they would do that. Let me be clear.”
Should Chicago look to start a rebuild, it is highly unlikely that Vucevic will earn a new deal, with Yahoo Sportsreporting there have not been ongoing contract extension talks between the two parties.
Meanwhile, Bleacher Reportsuggested the Bulls could be one candidate to “blow it up” in the near future, with the trade deadline telling in which direction the franchise is heading.
“Several teams hope the Bulls look at their roster as a dead-end endeavor,” Pincus of Bleacher Report wrote.
“Is Chicago going to re-sign pending free agent Nikola Vučević this summer? Or will the franchise cut its losses and embrace a rebuild?
“The Lakers have interest in DeMar DeRozan and Vučević, likely for two future first-round picks (and Westbrook). It’s unclear if LA would also want to bring back Alex Caruso.”
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