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The LA Lakers are making another push to land disgruntled New York Knicks wing Cam Reddish before the trade deadline.
In other news, Lakers owner and team president Jeanie Buss is hesitant to mortgage the team’s future in an effort to contend this season.
On that note, here are the latest rumors surrounding the LA Lakers as of Jan. 19, 2023.
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LA Lakers pushing to acquire Cam Reddish
The LA Lakers are still interested in acquiring Cam Reddish before the February 9 trade deadline. According to Sean Deveney of Heavy On Sports, the team is now pushing for a trade involving point guard Kendrick Nunn in exchange for Reddish.
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“The Lakers have been pushing to acquire little-used Knicks wing Cam Reddish, and word is that Nunn would be a chip in that deal, with a third team potentially involved,” Deveney said.
Reddish has been out of the Knicks’ rotation since Dec. 3 and has only appeared in 20 games this season. However, he is still just 23 years old and was the No. 10 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He is also on an affordable $5.95 million expiring contract. So it is understandable that the Lakers may want to take a low-risk flier on the young wing.
Reddish is averaging 8.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.8 steals per game on 44.9% shooting this season.
Jeanie Buss unlikely to trade future assets to improve current roster
The LA Lakers are sitting at just 20-25 and 13th in the Western Conference following their loss to Sacramento on Wednesday night.
The team’s poor record has reportedly had Jeanie Buss doubting whether it’s worth it for her team to make any risky win-now moves this season. According to an anonymous West executive who spoke with Sean Deveney, Buss is now leaning towards prioritizing the team’s future.
"They have come this far without trading the two picks (in 2027 and 2029) away, and it is going to be very hard to move Westbrook without putting one of those picks into the deal,” the executive said.
“You’ve got a lot of the organization saying, ‘We should trade picks and win now,’ but some in the organization are saying, ‘Do not sell out the future.’ And Jeanie Buss is with the second group, and that is what matters most," the executive continued.
There is only around three weeks left until the February 9 trade deadline. So it continues to look more and more likely that the Lakers won’t be trading their highly-coveted 2027 and 2029 first round picks before then.
NBA executive suggests LA Lakers trade Anthony Davis for Khris Middleton
With the LA Lakers unlikely to trade their future picks, this has led some to speculate about other big moves the team can make. According to an anonymous Western Conference executive who spoke with Sean Deveney, the Lakers should consider trading star forward Anthony Davis.
This comes as Davis has been out since Dec. 16 with a foot injury. The executive brought up Milwaukee Bucks All-Star wing Khris Middleton as a potential trade candidate.
"Khris Middleton, he might have to opt into his contract next year," the executive said.
"And that could make him a trade candidate in Milwaukee. He is not the player Davis is when healthy, but his contract has one less year if Davis eventually opts in, too. Middleton would be a good complement to LeBron, but they'd really be lacking in the rest of the roster," the executive continued.
Anthony Davis has only appeared in 101 games over the last three seasons, including 25 this season. However, Khris Middleton has also only played in seven games this season while dealing with a knee injury. So it would likely be a risky trade for LA, who would be banking on Middleton getting back to full strength.
Davis, aged 29, is averaging 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game on 59.4% shooting this season. Meanwhile, Middleton, aged 31, is averaging just 11.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game on 32.5% shooting.
