The LA Lakers may look at trade deals this offseason with Nick Young, Ryan Kelly and Robert Sacre after trading for Roy Hibbert and signing Lou Williams and Brandon Bass, as the team could clear cap space if they go after a player like Brendan Haywood and this comes as D'Angelo Russell, Robert Upshaw and Larry Nance Jr. have signed contracts with Los Angeles.
The Lakers have been active this offseason despite missing out on LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan, as they have added Hibbert in a trade and signed Bass for the front court. Bringing in Williams was a smart move, as he signed an affordable three year, $21 million contract and can be a consistent scoring option next to Kobe Bryant. According to Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports, the Lakers have Young as a "strong candidate" that could be traded to help free up cap space.
The team has already completed the Hibbert trade and signed both Williams and Bass, so the salary cap space is not as pressing as before. The Lakers could look at keeping Young for now and trading him during the season, as he signed through the next two years and has a player option after that. The Cavaliers reportedly have looked into trading for Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson this offseason and that could put Young in the mix as an option as well.
Marc Stein at ESPN.com reports that the Lakers, Suns and Clippers have interest in Brendan Haywood and that could be an option for Los Angeles if they trade Young. Haywood has an unguaranteed contract for $10.5 million and that makes him an attractive trade chip for the team. Young averaged 13 points and shot 36 percent from the floor last year, but his spot in the rotation could get pushed by Williams. Williams averaged 15 points last season and was sixth man of the year and he shot over 40 percent for the Raptors.
Check here for more on the potential trade with Nick Young, the possibility of Sacre or Kelly getting traded, the interest in Brendan Haywood with the Cavaliers.
The team could look at moving Sacre and/or Kelly at some point, as the Lakers signed Bass and have added Hibbert in a trade. According to Marc Spears at Yahoo Sports, the Lakers are "exploring" trades this offseason with Sacre, Kelly and Young. Kelly is making over $1.7 million, while Sacre is on the minimum, but both players are on expiring contracts. That could make them attractive like Haywood and Sam Amico reports that the talks with Haywood "continue" for the Cavaliers and that could be an option for the Lakers to pick up on again.
The Lakers have completed deals for rookies D'Angelo Russell and Larry Nance heading into the Summer League and the team also signed Robert Upshaw. According to ESPN Los Angeles, Russell and Nance signed "rookie scale" contracts and that likely means Russell will make around $23 million over his deal. Russell is making over $5 million for this season, while Nance is in for about $6 million on his deal.
The team has also signed Upshaw, as Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Upshaw has agreed to a deal with the Lakers that has a partial guarantee. Upshaw will have an invite to training camp and "no guarantee the second year: of the deal. I the team moves Sacre, Upshaw could get extended minutes behind Hibbert. Russell made his Summer League debut against Karl-Anthony Towns and the Wolves on Friday, scoring eight points and adding six assists and three steals for LA.
Check here for more on the D'Angelo Russell and Robert Upshaw deals.
