Lakers Trade Rumors: Moves LA Must Make in Order to Be Championship Contender

As they sit in fifth place in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are in the hunt—but to call them a flawed team would be an understatement. With the NBA's trade deadline approaching next week, L.A. clearly needs to make some moves in order to be a true player out west.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are playing superb basketball right now, and the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks will all be tough outs as well. Considering the fact that the Lakers have some glaring holes, their chances of going a long way aren't particularly good.

Every Lakers fan knows that L.A. desperately needs a point guard and a wing scorer, both for the purposes of taking some pressure off Kobe Bryant. Luckily, there appear to be some moves that are on the table, and if they are made, then the Lakers will be contenders once again.

Here are two potential deadline moves that will make the Lake Show a true threat to go the distance.

 

First-Round Pick to Timberwolves for Michael Beasley

Despite the fact that he averaged over 19 points per game last season and is just 23 years of age, the Minnesota Timberwolves seem intent on dealing forward Michael Beasley. There is no question that Beasley is a talented player, as evidenced by his breakout 2010-11 campaign, but there have long been issues with his attitude and work ethic.

The Lakers are a natural fit for Beasley since the likes of Metta World Peace and Matt Barnes can't hit open shots on the wing this season. The Lakers could already have Beasley, but they turned down an offer of Beasley for a first-round pick from the T-Wolves, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.



While the offer is certainly fair, especially if L.A.'s first is late in the round, the Lakers declined the deal in order to avoid having to pay an additional $6.2 million in luxury tax. That is understandabl...