It’s no secret the Los Angeles Lakers are searching for an upgrade at the point guard position after bouncing from the playoffs much earlier than expected.
The Lakers’ primary three ball-handling guards, Dennis Schroder, Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker, are all free agents this summer, with the latter being restricted.
It’s difficult to see all three coming back based on how last season ended and the financial constraints L.A. will deal with this offseason. But the Lakers also shouldn’t let any of them walk, as replacing them with better options isn’t a plausible scenario.
That’s where a sign-and-trade deal could come in. In a sign-and-trade deal, the team the free agent just played on can sign the player to the contract the player wants, then trade the player and the contract to another team for assets in return. That way, the team at least nets something back for a quality player.
Since the Lakers have limited cap space, sign-and-trades could be a viable route to make new additions to the roster. According to Marc Spears of The Undefeated, Russell Westbrook of the Washington Wizards could be a potential target:
There have also been talks about Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook being a potential candidate to move back home to Los Angeles in a sign-and-trade deal that could include free agent point guard Dennis Schroder, forward Kyle Kuzma and guard Talen Horton-Tucker, sources said.
Schroder and Horton-Tucker would be the players L.A. re-signs to make the deal work, and Kuzma has a three-year extension worth $13 million a year kicking in next season.
The salaries all match as Westbrook is slated to make over $44 million next season, with a player option of over $47 million the year after before becoming a free agent.
It’s unclear if L.A. would receive any other assets in this scenario or if it would need to send a pick, like the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s draft, to complete the deal.
Washington needs more talent around Bradley Beal in order to compete for a title, but the players L.A. would send over in this scenario might not be enough.
Only time will tell how this new report pans out, but the Lakers are looking for talented, win-now players to maximize the championship window with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
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