Best Potential Trade Targets for the Los Angeles Lakers

The trade buzz surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers has been unusually quiet leading up to the February 18 midseason deadline.

Some of this is likely due to a certain state of limbo the team finds itself in—paying homage to Kobe Bryant and his farewell tour during a lottery-bound season, while also developing neophytes for the future.

That said, the front office isn’t completely on vacation until the summer. Appearing on Time Warner Cable Sportsnet with Chris McGee, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak acknowledged making potential trade phone calls, but cautioned that the team’s most appealing trade chips are younger prospects who aren’t apt to be moved.



“I suspect there that there will be more activity moving forward,” Kupchak said. “But I wouldn’t suspect a blockbuster deal.”

One name should certainly be crossed off any star-crossed dream scenario: Sacramento Kings’ mercurial center DeMarcus Cousins. As Mark Stein of ESPN noted in December, Kings general manager Vlade Divac has been adamant that Boogie is “off the table.”

And so, we turn to the land of actual plausibility, looking at trade targets who might be available in return for limited assets, while also not necessarily chewing into future cap space.

What a tightrope walk!

 

Joakim Noah, C, Chicago Bulls

Joakim Noah has been synonymous with the Chicago Bulls since being selected as their 9th overall pick in 2007. It’s hard to imagine this 6’11” bundle of kinetic energy ever playing for another organization. But that possibility seems to be gaining traction, despite the team’s second-place standing in the East.

Noah started all 67 of his games in 2014-15, but his production was also hampered with residual soreness from offseason knee surgery, as well as a midseason an...

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