The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the season with high expectations, but if it goes like it did last year and the team is terrible, come trade deadline time names like Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin, Carlos Boozer, Wesley Johnson and Xavier Henry could come up as potential targets and LA will have to decide how they want to continue building around Kobe and young star Julius Randle.
The Lakers have hired Byron Scott as head coach and they have Kobe Bryant coming back after an injury plagued season and they feel that things are moving in the right direction. If Bryant gets injured again or the team falters back to where it was last season, there is a good chance that the team could make some trades to add draft picks and clear space for the future. According to Pro Basketball Talk, players like Ricky Rubio, Greg Monroe, Kenneth Faried and LaMarcus Aldridge could be available next offseason and the Lakers may try and position themselves to sign one or multiple of those names.
According to ESPN.com, the Lakers are not using the stretch provision on Steve Nash this year and that means his money will be off the books once the season ends. The Lakers now have Jeremy Lin and Nash and those two players are making a nice chunk of money and while it could be tough to move Nash and his deal, a situation could come up when the team has a deal option or two at the deadline depending on how the season goes. The Lakers aren't planning on blowing things up, but if things don't go all that well, the team could look at moving pieces and they have signed a number of names that could be targets later on.
The Lakers brought in Julius Randle in the draft this year after getting a top 10 pick and they also signed back Ryan Kelly, Nick Young, Jordan Hill as well as Xavier Henry and Carlos Boozer. The team bid on Boozer after he was amnestied by the Chicago Bulls and he could be a solid addition to the Lakers, but the team also could look at trading him if things do not go well. Boozer is a perfect type of veteran player to get targeted at the deadline depending on how things go and the same could be said for Ed Davis, who was also signed this offseason.
The Lakers may not go this route depending on how Bryant plays and how the team performs, but the team has plenty of targets they could go after next summer. Last season Young averaged 17.9 points per game to lead the Lakers and he signed a four year deal so he likely will be staying no matter what. Swaggy P is not a player like Kobe Bryant, but he is a strong scorer and he will give the team a solid option if Bryant can't go full blast this season.
The Lakers have plenty of moves that they can make and while trades will not necessarily be the path, the team will have options at the deadline.
