The Los Angeles Lakers Have Reportedly Set Three Different Hilarious Paths To Approaching Potential Trades On Dec. 15

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December 15 may not be a date that means much to most people around the world. It may not even mean that much to most NBA fans. But for NBA organizations, it looms large.

That’s because it’s the first date that NBA teams are allowed to trade players that signed free-agent deals with them in the offseason. This is particularly important for the floundering Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers currently sit at 8-12 on the year, three spots and two games outside the final Western Conference playoff spot. As LeBron James’ ever-dwindling prime continues to wind down, LA and general manager Rob Pelinka are clearly in win-now mode.

While it appears that a trade for Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is off the table due to his rampant antisemitism, the Lakers are reportedly still weighing a number of options.

Lakers Have Three Different Options For How To Approach Upcoming Trade Possibilities

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports that the organization has honed in on that Dec. 15 date as one to watch. Sources have reportedly told Buha that LA is hoping to execute one of three potential options:

  • Path 1 is to trade Russell Westbrook, plus a pick or two, for a star or multiplayer haul.
  • Path 2 is to trade some combination of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and picks (one first-round and/or multiple second-round picks) for role players who better address needs and upgrade the rotation.
  • Path 3 would be two separate deals: one with Westbrook plus one first-round pick, another using a Beverley-Nunn-pick package.

While that’s all fine and good in theory, it ignores a major problem that the team still faces. None of the three players it wants to trade are any good. Nunn is shooting a career-low 29.1 percent from deep this season. Beverly is somehow worse at 23.4 percent, and Westbrook is a sixth man that’s currently on a max contract.

It’s one thing for fans on Twitter to propose lopsided trades. But it’s hilarious to see an actual NBA front office believe it can trade its dead weight for another team’s valuable player(s).

The Lakers truly seem to believe they’re just entitled to success, and it’s downright hilarious.