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Wizards

Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn says it&rsquo;s a &ldquo;no-brainer&rdquo; that he will pick up his $5.25M player option and will return to the team next season.&nbsp;
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Kendrick Nunn says it&rsquo;s a &ldquo;no-brainer&rdquo; that he will pick up his player option for the 2022-23 season with the Lakers. He says with an offseason of recovery and training, he expects to be fully healthy for the start of training camp.
&mdash; Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1513661306364080128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2022</a></blockquote>

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ANALYSIS: Nunn signed a two-year deal as a free agent with Lakers before this season which turned out to be a total dud. He was expected to be a big part of the team's rotation but he ended up not playing any games due to a lingering bone bruise.&nbsp;
Nunn referred to the injury as being "extremely frustrating" but he not says he's feeling much better and expects to be healthy for training camp.
Last season as a member of the Miami Heat, he averaged 14.6 points, 3.2 rebound and 2.6 assists in 29.5 in 56 regular season games.
&nbsp;

Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn says it’s a “no-brainer” that he will pick up his $5.25M player option and will return to the team next season. 

Kendrick Nunn to exercise player option with Lakers

For a third of the NBA, summer break comes early.&nbsp;
Though 10 teams didn't make the playoffs, it's not all doom and gloom. Several NBA bottom-feeders took tangible steps forward in their rebuilding efforts, while others &mdash; well, they're not supposed to be here.
Every franchise enters the offseason with summer plans. As teams get eliminated from the postseason, I'll be rounding up every team's offseason outlook and posing one question they must answer over the summer. You'll see each squad's 2022 NBA Draft chest, plus their potential free agents, along with the central question.&nbsp;
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Let's get started!
DETROIT PISTONS 
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick (via Brooklyn)
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Marvin Bagley III (restricted), Cory Joseph (player option), Hamidou Diallo (team option), Frank Jackson (team option), Luka Garza (team option), Carsen Edwards (team option), Rodney McGruder 
Central question: How do the Pistons build an offense around Cade Cunningham?
This was a pretty solid season for Detroit as far as rebuilding efforts go. Cade Cunningham emerged as a Rookie of the Year front-runner and two-way centerpiece who has fans ecstatic about his ceiling. The Pistons finished a solid 10-14 after the All-Star break, and have shown flashes of an improving defense. They did still finish with the 28th-ranked offense, per Cleaning the Glass, and one of the worst shooting rates in the NBA.
Cunningham had to carry a ridiculous offensive load in the latter stages of the season. Detroit has the power to change that in 2022-23, starting with its high draft pick. Maybe Jabari Smith's lights-out scoring means he's an ideal secondary option? Perhaps Paolo Banchero thrives as an additional creator, or maybe Chet Holmgren makes sense as a finisher and spot-up threat? The fun part about Cunningham is that his versatility creates so many pathways for the Pistons in the draft &mdash; whether or not the ping pong balls fall their way.
Detroit wields a cap hold of approximately $28 million on Bagley, and once that lifts (either via a new contract or letting him walk), the Pistons should have a solid chunk of cap space to add to the supporting cast.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), better of Brooklyn/Miami first-round picks
Potential free agents: John Wall (player option), Dennis Schroder, Bruno Fernando (restricted), Jae'Sean Tate (team option), Anthony Lamb (qualifying offer), Trevelin Queen (qualifying offer)
Central question: How patient is the front office willing to be?
Houston's 2021 draft strategy of "draft talent, figure out the fit later" appears to be working out. Jalen Green demonstrated an Anthony Edwards-esque leap post-All-Star break, Alperen Sengun is already one of the NBA's best passing bigs, and guys like Josh Christopher and KJ Martin routinely hinted at upside. Houston gets another prime shot at a franchise cornerstone this draft cycle. We're approaching Stage 2 of the strategy, though: figuring out how the pieces fit.&nbsp;
The Rockets were one of two NBA teams with bottom-five ratings on offense and defense. They led the league in rim frequency and were fourth in three-point frequency, but posted mediocre shooting clips. Houston evokes memories of the rebuilding Nets, who played a similarly extreme brand of ball for a few years as the team slowly reshaped into a fun playoff squad. Does the front office have the foresight to let head coach Stephen Silas work things out with his roster of young guns?&nbsp;
INDIANA PACERS
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How is there a &ldquo;rebuild&rdquo; to afraid of if it isn&rsquo;t a rebuild? <a href="https://t.co/0pDD7E6Mss">pic.twitter.com/0pDD7E6Mss</a>
&mdash; Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) <a href="https://twitter.com/C2_Cooper/status/1512127632758001664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Draft assets: First-round pick (10.5% chance at No. 1), First-round pick (if 15-30, via Cleveland), Second-round pick (via Houston), Second-round pick (via Phoenix)
Potential free agents: Ricky Rubio, T.J. Warren, Jalen Smith, Lance Stephenson, Nate Hinton (restricted), Oshae Brissett (team option)
Central question: How extreme is the incoming rebuild, and what veterans mesh with the future vision?
Notably unlisted among the potential free agents are Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield and T.J. McConnell. All range from solid starters to rotational complements, and 3 of the 4 (not Turner) will be 30 next season. The Pacers are clearly retooling, as evidenced by their trade-deadline fireworks and Tyrese Haliburton's subsequent high usage. They also have publicly flip-flopped regarding the direction of the team; see the above Tweet.
Indiana doesn't have the pure depth of talent to straddle the line. The Pacers can trade many of these talented players and build up a chest of draft picks and young pieces, or they can charge ahead, turn their picks into win-now players and hope Haliburton is ready for the playoff push. But a middle ground doesn't exist in an Eastern Conference where just about every team has solidified its direction.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Draft assets: None
Potential free agents: Russell Westbrook (player option), Kendrick Nunn (player option), Austin Reaves (team option), Stanley Johnson (team option), Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley, Wayne Ellington, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, D.J. Augustin, Wenyen Gabriel, Mason Jones (restricted)
Central question: What does team-building around two injury-prone superstars look like?
LeBron James <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lebron-james-i-dont-have-a-cap-on-how-long-i-want-to-play" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turns 38 next season</a>, and has played 60-plus games just once in the past four seasons. Anthony Davis has now missed more than half the season in back-to-back years. Sure, the Lakers were a mess regardless of their stars' health, but going forward, is pursuing fits next to James and Davis even worthwhile if the two won't consistently be on the court?
With just three players under contract (the aforementioned stars, plus Talen Horton-Tucker), the Lakers enter another offseason of a roster overhaul. This time, I'd recommend almost entirely forgetting about James and Davis when building the squad and simply try to assemble units that make sense together.&nbsp;
NEW YORK KNICKS
Draft assets: First-round pick (2.5% chance at No. 1, could change based on Play-In results), Second-round pick via Boston and Charlotte (if 56-60)
Potential free agents: Mitchell Robinson, Ryan Arcidiacono 
Central question: What's going to happen with the veterans?
The top six moneymakers for the Knicks next season are all 27 or older, and I think many fans would say that out of the group, only Julius Randle should have started &mdash; and he seriously regressed this season. The young Knicks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/explain-one-play-young-knicks-playing-chess" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clearly showed they're ready to take the mantle</a>.
So what happens with Randle, Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and Kemba Walker? Is Tom Thibodeau prepared to reduce their (their meaning Burks specifically in this case) minutes and usage, will trades be coming, or will Madison Square Garden burn when Immanuel Quickley opens the season by playing 16 minutes off the bench? New York has drafted extremely well in recent seasons, but the ceiling of the young core is capped if these youngsters don't get a chance to prove themselves in meaningful situations.
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 
Draft assets: First-round pick (12.5% chance at No. 1), First-round pick via Clippers, First-round pick via Phoenix, Second-round pick
Potential free agents: Derrick Favors (player option), Mike Muscala (team option), Lu Dort (team option), Isaiah Roby (team option), Melvin Frazier (restricted)
Central question: What is the pathway in the frontcourt?
I've stanned Sam Presti's team-building strategy for years now, and I still think it's on track for a serious payoff. Josh Giddey slots in somewhere on your All-Rookie ballot, and draft classmates Tre Mann, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aaron Wiggins flashed rotation-caliber play as well. It is simply a joy to watch a random young player have a breakout game on any given night, and OKC has already shown the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-oklahoma-city-thunders-emerging-defensive-identity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early stages of a prominent defense</a>.
Next up: Capitalize on a draft loaded with intruiging frontcourt players. Banchero, Holmgren and Smith are obviously the best of the best. But even if the Thunder slide in the lottery, they could pounce on an athletic shot-blocker like Jalen Duren, or use one of their later picks on a center like Mark Williams. I'm just spit-balling, but the point is that OKC has plenty of chances to find its big-man anchor and further flesh out its core.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Indiana
Potential free agents: Gary Harris, Robin Lopez, Bol Bol (restricted), Ignas Brazdeikis (restricted), Admiral Schofield (restricted)
Central question: How do the offensive pieces fit together?
Orlando quietly logged a 17th-ranked defense this season, and an 11th-ranked unit since Feb. 1. A dismal offense ultimately doomed the Magic, who were riddled with inconsistent shotmaking and poor team efficiency marks throughout the half-court. We don't need to sound any player alarms; it takes time for young guards in particular to grasp the responsibilities of running NBA offenses.&nbsp;
But what if I told you Orlando has wielded bottom-10 offensive ratings every season for the last decade?&nbsp;
Change can start in the draft, again with some of the top offensive forward options like Banchero or Smith. Adding another ball-dominant guard in Jaden Ivey might be overkill, but AJ Griffin and Bennedict Mathurin feel like good wing fits at first glance. Spotrac estimates the Magic could have up to $30 million in practical cap space, leaving plenty of room for veteran players to accentuate the young talent.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
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THE D IN DREW STANDS FOR DUNK DO NOT GOOGLE THIS <a href="https://t.co/2AojdAskYV">pic.twitter.com/2AojdAskYV</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1508636734900166659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Draft assets: First-round pick (9.0% chance at No. 1), First-round pick via New Orleans (if 5-14), Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Memphis
Potential free agents: Joe Ingles, Jusuf Nurkic, Ben McLemore, Anfernee Simons (restricted), CJ Elleby (restricted), Elijah Hughes (restricted), Keljin Blevins (restricted)
Central question: Is Portland actually trying to win "now" or win soon?
Some really great development happened for the Blazers during the "wash" portion of the season in the form of players like Trendon Watford, Keon Johnson and Drew Eubanks. Add them to Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little and the incomng draft picks, and Portland suddenly has... kind of a sneaky-deep prospect pool? There's real potential to mold this group into a rotation cast that gives Portland one of its deepest rosters in years.
That's why these <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jerami-grant-trade-rumors-portland-is-still-the-frontrunner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jerami Grant trade rumors concern me</a>. Giving up a possible lottery pick to try and piece together a short-term playoff team risks too much and keeps the Trail Blazers in the limbo they have lounged in for several years. Understandably, the franchise wants to build a contender while Damian Lillard is invested and in his prime. With some patience, Portland can without sacrificing sustainibility.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
Draft assets: First-round pick (7.5% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick, Second-round pick (via Chicago)
Potential free agents: Jeremy Lamb, Josh Jackson, Damian Jones, Donte DiVincenzo (restricted), Neemias Queta (restricted), Trey Lyles (team option)
Central question: How does Sacramento turn into a competitive NBA defense?
The Kings have trotted out lackluster defenses for as long as I can remember. In fact, they haven't ranked above 20th in Defensive Rating since 2005-06 &mdash; notably, the last time they made the playoffs.
And that didn't change under interim head coach Alvin Gentry. (Gentry will not return as head coach next season, but is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shams-alvin-gentry-no-longer-interim-coach-of-the-kings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in talks for a front-office role</a>, per ESPN.) However, the on-paper roster actually shines some hope. Davion Mitchell made highlight reels out of his "Off-Night" defense. Justin Holiday is a solid individual defender, as is Harrison Barnes, and even De'Aaron Fox has his sporadic moments.&nbsp;
Can Sacramento find a head coach who turns a group of intriguing players with defensive potential into even an average squad? What draft and free agency options exist? Of course, the Kings would like to end their NBA-leading playoff drought. That'll come with changing the culture on defense.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Draft assets: First-round pick (2.5% chance at No. 1, depends on Play-In results), Second-round pick (via Dallas)
Potential free agents: Bradley Beal (player option), Thomas Bryant, Raul Neto, Tomas Satoransky, Anthony Gill (restricted), Cassius Winston (restricted)
Central question: What style of guard play is a feasible best fit?
Okay, so obviously the biggest question mark surrounds Bradley Beal's free agency. But from a conceptual standpoint, Washington has tried and failed over the past few seasons to find Beal's best-fitting partner in crime. John Wall, Russell Westbrook and Spencer Dinwiddie were each supposed to provide the downhill juice Beal lacks. The Wizards either did this at serious expense of another skill area (Wall, Westbrook), or it just didn't translate their at-rim ability (Dinwiddie). All battled injuries as well.
"I think we need bigger guards," <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/bradley-beal-outlines-what-wizards-need-build-contender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beal said in March</a>. "We need more guys that can get in the paint for us, more ball-handlers, more guys that can really create and get two feet in the paint, but also who can knock down threes."
I mean, Beal's needs make total sense. The problem is that every other basketball team on Earth also wants this type of guard.
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Ethan Fuller sets the offseason stage for each team that missed the NBA playoffs.

Summer plans for the NBA's 10 non-playoff teams

There wasn&rsquo;t exactly a consensus about how the 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; season would end, but it&rsquo;s probably safe to say that nobody foresaw this.
On Tuesday night, the Lakers saw their bleak playoff hopes reduced to zero when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets, and immediately thereafter &mdash; and rightfully so &mdash; Frank Vogel, Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook were all in the news.
In the end, there&rsquo;s no single reason the Lakers turned in one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history &mdash; there&rsquo;s enough blame to go around.
What Rob Pelinka needs to figure out is how to fix it.
The answer, ironically, would probably be to start thinking small.
This past season, the team managed to find some serviceable pieces to augment the star-studded core, but only Davis, James, Talen Horton-Tucker and Austin Reaves are under contract next season. The Lakers hold a team option on Stanley Johnson and Westbrook and Kendrick Nunn both have player options they are likely to pick up.
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The official 2021-22 Kendrick Nunn highlight reel 🎥 <a href="https://t.co/wDPehJyqpN">pic.twitter.com/wDPehJyqpN</a>
&mdash; Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersLead/status/1508967570560458762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Combined &mdash; thanks in large part to the commitments to Westbrook, James and Davis &mdash; the Lakers are in line to have about $148 million on their 2022-23 ledger, which is already about $26 million over the projected salary cap.
Said differently, outside of offloading one of Westbrook, James or Davis without taking much salary back in return, the team wouldn&rsquo;t be able to manufacture enough cap space to have a competent opportunity of improving via free agency. Obviously, the club could go the route it went this past season and hand out one-year, minimum salary contracts to aging veterans, but the players who could actually make a difference for the Lakers won&rsquo;t exactly be lining up to sign on the dotted line given the performance of this year&rsquo;s team.
To make matters even worse, the Lakers don&rsquo;t own a pick in this year&rsquo;s draft. Their first rounder was sent to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis trade, while their second-round pick is owned by the Spurs.
So how does a team with no cap space and no draft picks improve?
Simple: by thinking small.
Ask the Brooklyn Nets, and look toward the Miami Heat.
A historically frugal franchise, Miami has never necessarily found itself in the kind of salary cap hell the Lakers are in at the moment. Part of the reason why is because one of the constants during Pat Riley&rsquo;s tenure has been investing heavily in scouting and player development. The same rings true of most successful small market franchises.
Players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis may win you the championship, but throughout history, it&rsquo;s always been players like Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who get you there in the first place.
Contenders invariably unearth valuable and sometimes unknown role players and maximize those role players' talent. For example, this year's Miami team has enjoyed the combination of Tyler Herro, Max Strus and Omer Yurtseven combining to earn only about $7 million. That's about $3 million less than Talen Horton-Tucker alone. Strus and Yurtseven are far from household names, but Miami wouldn&rsquo;t be entering play on April 6 as the first seed out East without them, especially considering the injuries the team has dealt with this season.
Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn also go on a list that features the likes of Bam Adebayo, Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem as players drafted and developed by the staff in Miami.
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Some time ago, the Lakers had what looked like a competent core of young players. It&rsquo;s hard to imagine that just four years ago, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and Jordan Clarkson were all teammates in Los Angeles. They&rsquo;ve all come and gone, most to facilitate the arrivals of LeBron, Davis and then Westbrook.
The Lakers do have a championship to show for that roster churn, but from this point forth, the way out might actually be to go back to the drawing board. Sean Marks and his Brooklyn Nets, another franchise that Lakers VP of Operations Rob Pelinka would be wise to mimic this summer, provide a blueprint for how to go about doing that.
When Marks took over the Nets in 2016, Brooklyn was not in a good place. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry had all come and gone, and the draft picks that became Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Collin Sexton were living their best lives elsewhere. The Nets had a bloated payroll, a team of scrubs and no future.
The NBA's Chicago Draft Combine was only two months after Marks was hired in Brooklyn, and despite not owning a first-round pick, he sent quite a contingent to the Windy City. Their directive was to do as much recon work as possible to find Marks some players who could help. Marks used Thaddeus Young to trade his way into the first round and came away from the draft with Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead. Within the next six months, he signed two diamonds in the rough, Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie.
One season later, Marks drafted Jarrett Allen and landed D&rsquo;Angelo Russell in a trade with the Lakers, and that was essentially the core that both got Brooklyn back on track and ultimately landed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
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Highlights Kyrie Irving &amp; Kevin Durant 🆚 Sixers<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NetsWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NetsWorld</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBATwitter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBATwitter</a> <a href="https://t.co/viw7ZzQQIZ">pic.twitter.com/viw7ZzQQIZ</a>
&mdash; Back2Back (@B2BFR) <a href="https://twitter.com/B2BFR/status/1502186067541307394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Obviously, that all took time to come to fruition, and time isn't something that LeBron James has. But the point is that no matter how daunting the situation, a competent NBA front office can build a team without having the most obvious assets readily available. That the Lakers have two superstars should actually make the task a bit less difficult.
In this league, there are generally two types of teams: those who rely on free agency and trades to build their contender, and those who build their programs organically, most often through the draft. Big-market teams tend to be the former, while small market teams usually go the other route.
If either Marks or Riley were put in charge of the Lakers&rsquo; front office, they would probably trade Horton-Tucker for draft capital after realizing he&rsquo;s not the right fit there. They&rsquo;d engage the Pelicans, Blazers, Thunder, Rockets, Pacers and Grizzlies &mdash; teams who may have multiple first-round picks &mdash; and find a way to come away from the draft with a young piece and at least one more promising player from the summer circuit. Only then would they go knocking on the doors of guys like Tristan Thompson, Semi Ojeleye and Victor Oladipo, all of whom could help and potentially be had for cheap.
By the time the 2022-23 season tips off, the team could be remade. Some names we&rsquo;d know, and many we wouldn&rsquo;t. But as we&rsquo;ve seen before, often, it&rsquo;s the names we don&rsquo;t know who end up making the biggest difference. Alex Caruso, anyone?&nbsp;
Neither DeMar DeRozan, Buddy Hield nor Kyle Lowry will be coming to save the day; Pelinka and James got themselves into their current mess, and they&rsquo;ll have to get themselves out.
With their season ending much sooner than anyone could have imagined, the Lakers will have plenty to address over their long summer.
But, at least in the NBA, small steps can lead to major strides.
With few options, the Lakers should be so wise.
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With the Los Angeles Lakers out of playoff contention, they must now focus on rebuilding like a small-market team.

Only fix for LeBron’s Lakers is to operate like a small-market team

Although some top-tier players who were expected to hit free agency this coming summer have already signed extensions, the 2022 NBA free-agent class will feature quite a few stars.
In particular, the crop of guards up for grabs is quite impressive, which is where we will begin this three-part ranking series.
1. James Harden &mdash; Philadelphia 76ers &mdash; Player Option
James Harden holds a player option worth $47.4 million for the 2022-23 season, and it was reported that Harden would exercise it in conjunction with his trade from Brooklyn to Philadelphia. Although he hasn't done so yet, Harden has said he plans to. Over the summer, the maximum offer the Sixers can present to Harden is a pact that would pay him up north of $270 million over the next six years, which ESPN analyst Bobby Marks declared would be the "worst contract in NBA history." Here's a look at what Harden's annual salary would look like:
2022-23: $47.4 million 2023-24: $49.7 million 2024-25: $53.7 million&nbsp; 2025-26: $57.7 million 2026-27: $61.7 million&nbsp;
2. Zach LaVine &mdash; Chicago Bulls &mdash; Unrestricted
Zach LaVine bet on himself instead of signing a four-year, $105 million extension last offseason, and the gamble has most certainly paid off. He's averaging 24.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.9 made three-pointers while shooting 40.0% from downtown and a career-high 85.7% from the free-throw line. Steph Curry is the only player in the NBA to match or exceed LaVine in those statistical categories this season. With LaVine playing at such a high level and the Bulls near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, Chicago is fully expected to offer him a max deal of five years at approximately $200 million. The most any other team can offer LaVine is around $160 million over four years.
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3. Bradley Beal &mdash; Washington Wizards &mdash; Player Option
The Wizards announced last month that Bradley Beal underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist. Prior to the injury, Beal's scoring average had dipped dramatically (from 31.3 points per game in 2020-21 to 23.2 this season), and he was shooting just 30.0% from downtown, but the three-time All-Star was averaging a career-high 6.6 assists. Beal's player option for the 2022-23 season is worth $36.4 million.
4. Kyrie Irving &mdash; Brooklyn Nets &mdash; Player Option
It's been a tumultuous season for both Kyrie Irving and the Nets. Kyrie's refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 &mdash; which resulted in him being banished from the team for the first half of the year before Brooklyn welcomed him back to play in road games &mdash; reportedly was an important factor in James Harden's decision to demand a trade. In the preseason, the Nets were heavy favorites to take home the title, but find themselves below .500 and in ninth place in the East. Brooklyn is just 1-9 in the last 10 games Irving has appeared in. Considering all the drama (and the reports that Irving would consider retirement if he was traded), it seems safe to assume Kyrie will remain in Brooklyn. But when it comes to Mr. Irving (who has a player option for the 2022&ndash;23 season worth $36,934,550), making assumptions often proves unwise. Stay tuned.&nbsp;
5. Anfernee Simons &mdash; Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; Restricted
It could be argued that Anfernee Simons has increased his value more than any player in the league over the last five months. After averaging a modest 7.8 points per game last season, Simons is pouring in 17.3 points per game in 2021-22, which represents the largest year-over-year increase in the NBA this season. And his numbers are even more impressive dating back to the start of the New Year, when he was permanently inserted into the starting lineup.
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38 points (9 threes), 3 rebounds, 3 assists in 40 minutes. If you're not taking notice of <a href="https://twitter.com/AnferneeSimons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@anferneesimons</a> yet, you should be! <a href="https://t.co/5IPvZXFvyo">pic.twitter.com/5IPvZXFvyo</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1500324039100755972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Over the 27 games he's appeared in since the calendar flipped to January, the 22-year-old Simons is averaging 23.4 points, 5.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 4.4 made triples, while shooting 42.3% from downtown and 86.6% from the charity stripe. Simons leads the league in made three-pointers (119) in 2022. Yes, he's struggled on the defensive end, but one of the primary reasons the Blazers made multiple major moves before the deadline (trading away CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Robert Covington) was to clear up cap space to sign Simons to a considerable extension this summer. They are not going to let him walk.
6. Jalen Brunson &mdash; Dallas Mavericks &mdash; Unrestricted
After two solid, if unspectacular, seasons to start his NBA career, Jalen Brunson took a significant step forward last season; he averaged 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 treys in 25.7 minutes per game, while shooting 52.3% from the floor and 40.5% from downtown. The Villanova product has continued to improve in 2021-22, posting career-highs in points (16.2), assists (5.3) and rebounds (3.7) per contest. Brunson also showed he could shoulder increased responsibility by stepping in and stepping up when Luka Doncic missed 14 of Dallas' first 35 games this season. Jalen played the best basketball of his NBA career over an eight-game stretch in mid-to-late December, when he averaged 22.4 points and 7.9 dimes a night. This offseason, Brunson reportedly will be seeking a four-year, $80 million deal. The New York Knicks are among the teams expected to express serious interest.
7. Collin Sexton &mdash; Cleveland Cavaliers &mdash; Restricted
Collin Sexton injured his left knee in a game in early November, and an MRI revealed a torn meniscus. He had surgery a week later, sidelining him for the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign. It will be fascinating to see what offers he receives on the open market. Last season, Sexton averaged 24.3 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 47.5% from the floor, 37.5% from downtown and 81.5% from the free-throw line. However, he struggled defensively, and the Cavs registered a league-worst 60-159 record over the first three years of his career. With Sexton out of action this season, Cleveland is 10 games above .500. Because he is restricted, the Cavs can match any offer he receives this summer.&nbsp;
8. Malik Monk &mdash; Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; Unrestricted
Mailk Monk, the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, failed to live up to expectations over the first four years of his career in Charlotte. He made just one career start as a member of the Hornets, and had averaged 9.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 233 appearances while shooting below 34% from downtown. As a result, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to ink him to a one-year contract at the veteran minimum ($1.7 million) for this season. Surprisingly, Monk has established himself as one of the Lakers' most consistent and effective players. In the 23 games he's started for L.A., Monk has averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists while posting a True Shooting percentage of 58.8%. He will look to cash in with a significant pay raise in July.&nbsp;
9. Russell Westbrook &mdash; Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; Player Option
Besides Monk's unexpected success and the MVP-caliber performance of the ageless wonder that is LeBron James, the 2021-22 Lakers season has been an absolute nightmare. L.A. is eight games below .500 and desperately fighting just to make the Play-In Tournament. And Russell Westbrook is the player <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/russell-westbrook-opens-up-about-shaming-from-lakers-fans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the public has pilloried and pinned the Lakers' failures on</a>. Russ has a player option for the 2022-23 season worth a whopping $47,063,478, so there is almost zero chance of him opting out. The Lakers will undoubtedly explore all possible trade scenarios this offseason.
10. John Wall &mdash; Houston Rockets &mdash; Player Option
John Wall showed flashes of his immense talent last season, when he averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists per game for the Rockets, but he hasn't set foot on an NBA court since April 2021. Wall will almost certainly exercise his player option for 2022-23 worth $47.4 million. At that point, he'll be on an expiring contract, which will make it far easier for Houston to move him.
Best of the Rest: Dennis Schroder, Patty Mills (player option), Kendrick Nunn (player option), Victor Oladipo, Gary Payton II, Gary Harris, Lonnie Walker IV (restricted), Tomas Satoransky, Ricky Rubio, Goran Dragic, Delon Wright, Lou Williams, Facundo Campazzo (restricted), Bruce Brown Jr., Donte DiVincenzo (restricted), Pat Connaughton (player option), Jeremy Lamb, Tyus Jones, Cory Joseph
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Tommy Beer ranks the top guards who could be available as part of the 2022 NBA free-agent class.

2022 NBA Free Agency Preview: Ranking the top-10 guards

Butterfly effects impact everything around them. That is as true in the NBA as it is anywhere &ndash; and it&rsquo;s especially true with administrative moves like trades. For example, would the Milwaukee Bucks have won the 2021 NBA championship without trading for Jrue Holiday? Probably not.
So, while new additions are discussed ad nauseum, trades also often result in diminished roles &ndash; or subsequent trades &ndash; for existing players who were firmly in a team's rotation. And with that in mind, I can&rsquo;t help but turn my attention to the Indiana Pacers.
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Indiana was lauded for a deadline deal that swapped Domantas Sabonis for Tyrese Haliburton. But lost in the shuffle of this major deadline deal is Malcolm Brogdon. It&rsquo;s understandable that Haliburton, a 21-year-old averaging 20.7 points and 10.0 assists per game in only his sophomore season, attracts serious attention. But as recently as last season, it was Brogdon who was seen as the team's future point guard.
The former Rookie of the Year is quietly averaging 18.5 points, 5.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game this season. Granted, he&rsquo;s shooting poorly (31% on three-pointers), but he leads the Pacers in assists, and he&rsquo;s their third-leading scorer (prior to the trade) &ndash; not too shabby.
The Pacers have made it abundantly clear that they are rebuilding on-the-fly. They have a young core of Haliburton, Chris Duarte and Jalen Smith. Add in their 2022 first-round pick, as well as Cleveland&rsquo;s 2022 first, and they are off to a good start.
Never mind Buddy Hield &ndash; although if the Pacers are serious about a rebuild, he should expect to be traded, too &ndash; but all of a sudden, Brogdon is probably feeling unwanted and underappreciated &ndash; and rightfully so. According to HoopsHype&rsquo;s <a href="https://hoopshype.com/author/michaelascotto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Scotto</a>, the Pacers may be open to moving Brogdon this summer.
If I&rsquo;m being honest they should, but not due to production issues. As previously mentioned, Brogdon was playing good basketball this season prior to suffering an Achilles injury in December; Brogdon returned on Friday, Feb. 25, collecting 15 points (on 3 for 8 shooting on three-pointers), 4 assists and 4 rebounds in 31 minutes.
Instead, Brogdon should be moved because he simply doesn&rsquo;t align with a rebuild. He&rsquo;ll turn 30 in December, meaning he&rsquo;ll be past his peak when the younger Pacers enter theirs. And while that may be moot given the unlikely nature of a team remaining together for five or more years in the modern era, it&rsquo;s still probably unwise to waste a talented player like Brogdon on a team that won&rsquo;t compete for a championship with him &ndash; especially when you can swap him for additional assets, allowing less valuable veterans to show Indiana&rsquo;s youngsters the ropes. &nbsp;
For better or worse, Brogdon is under the Pacers&rsquo; control. He just signed a two-year, $45 million extension last summer, which means he&rsquo;s signed to Indiana through 2025 with no player option. Given the bad press Ben Simmons received for his hold out in Philadelphia, Brogdon is unlikely to go that route &ndash; and it may be out of the plan altogether for Brogdon, anyway, who seemed excited to play alongside the younger Haliburton.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to play with him. I think he&rsquo;s honestly similar to me,&rdquo; Brogdon told the media on Feb. 23. &ldquo;Just the way he plays the game, the way he thinks [of] the game. He&rsquo;s a great young player.&rdquo;
Still, what&rsquo;s good for the goose isn&rsquo;t always good for the gander. So, how can Indiana extract the most value for Brogdon while continuing to build? The Pacers will have to look to engage teams that hope to compete in the near future in trade talks &ndash; but those without well-stocked backcourts will be especially interested. So, who does that leave?&nbsp;
New York Knicks
Of course, New York will be mentioned as a destination for Brogdon, as they haven&rsquo;t had a consistent and legitimate starting point guard in decades. Further, after experiencing success in 2020-21, New York is starving for more.
The benefit of dealing with the Knicks is that they have a good deal of draft capital and lots of short-term and/or expiring deals. To achieve $22.6 million in outgoing salary, New York would probably like to include Evan Fournier &ndash; although that&rsquo;s unlikely give the length of his contract. From a salary perspective, an Alec Burks-Kemba Walker-Immanuel Quickley deal is probably more likely. Remember, Walker will be expiring next season. The Knicks will probably be hesitant to move Quickley, but they&rsquo;ll have to give up something to get Brogdon.
But those three alone won't get it done. Indiana will demand draft picks, too. Fortunately, the Knicks have all of theirs and then some. If the Knicks are willing to part with two future picks (at least one of which being a first-rounder), that probably gets it done &ndash; especially if that first-rounder is their own 2022 first-round pick.&nbsp;
Consensus &ndash; it could happen.
Los Angeles Lakers 
It&rsquo;s way harder to find a deal that works for the Lakers. Technically, though, if things fall their way, Los Angeles could offer something.
First of all, the Lakers need Kendrick Nunn to pick up his player option &ndash; although that&rsquo;s not out of the question as Nunn has yet to play this season. And remember the hype around Nunn just a year or so ago? While he&rsquo;s far from a sure thing, Indiana could view the 26-year-old as a possible rotation piece.
But Nunn&rsquo;s option is worth only $5 million. The Lakers would also have to include Talen Horton-Tucker, who will make approximately $10 million in 2022-23 &ndash; and they still need to add another $7 million. If they pick up Stanley Johnson&rsquo;s option ($2.3 million) and include him and other minimum guys, technically that gets them there.
But is that enough value to return Brogdon? I can speak for Indiana here &ndash; no, it&rsquo;s not. Making matters worse, the Lakers draft pick situation is murky. They can&rsquo;t trade a future first-rounder with certainty until 2027. That&rsquo;s probably too undefined for Indiana.
Consensus &ndash; won&rsquo;t work unless a third team is involved
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Brooklyn Nets
The Nets are in a similar spot as the Lakers in terms of draft picks &ndash; they can really only offer the 76ers' 2022 first-rounder, and they might not have enough promising youth to get a deal done.
Brooklyn can offer Seth Curry ($8.5 million), Cam Thomas ($2.1 million) and Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe ($2.1 million) &ndash; but they&rsquo;re still about $10 million away from matching salaries. They can potentially work in a sign-and-trade deal including Nic Claxton, too, who will be a restricted free agent &ndash; but that becomes far more complicated.
Still, would a deal involving Curry, Thomas, Sharpe, Claxton and a Philadelphia first-rounder be enough for Brogdon? It&rsquo;s not a bad haul &ndash; but Indiana would have to be confident that at least one of those players is a long-term starter, and I&rsquo;m not sure that&rsquo;s the case.
Consensus &ndash; unlikely, but it&rsquo;s possible
Washington Wizards
It might surprise folks to see Washington on this list, but remember, the Wizards are still trying to convince Bradley Beal to remain in Washington. They're hoping to compete with Beal and (probably) Kristaps Porzingis. A big three of Beal, Porzingis and Brogdon is actually a pretty good core that seemingly complements each other.
But Indiana will be doing their Eastern Conference rivals no favors. So, what&rsquo;s in it for the Pacers? Well, the Wizards have a pretty decent war chest of assets. They can send out Rui Hachimura ($6.2 million) Deni Avdija ($4.9 million) and Kyle Kuzma ($13 million). Both Hachimura and Avdija are former lottery picks, and they are only 24 and 21, respectively. Alternatively, if Washington is intent on keeping Kuzma, they can send a combination of Corey Kispert ($3.5 million), Vernon Carey Jr. ($1.7 million), Cassius Winston ($1.5 million qualifying offer) and others.
But the Wizards lack draft capital &ndash; the next first-rounder Washington can include is their 2028 pick. So, Indiana would have to be really high on Hachimura and Avdija &ndash; which is possible, but the Pacers might not view them favorably as others do.&nbsp;
Consensus &ndash; could happen
Ultimately, the Pacers must decide to move on from Brogdon before any trades can be examined, but it&rsquo;s in their best interest to do so. And while the teams that are most likely to be interested don&rsquo;t necessarily have the right assets to make Indiana jump at a deal, most of them have interesting pieces that should at least make Indiana consider a move. &nbsp;
Where Brogdon plays the 2022-23 season and beyond is still anyone&rsquo;s guess &ndash; but it shouldn&rsquo;t be with Indiana. And that&rsquo;s in the best interest of Brogdon and the Pacers.
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The Pacers and Malcolm Brogdon are headed in different directions. Will Indiana continue to rebuild this summer by moving Brogdon?

The Indiana Pacers and their Malcolm Brogdon conundrum

After the Los Angeles Lakers were embarrassed by the Milwaukee Bucks at home on Tuesday night (before Los Angeles lost to a bad Portland Trail Blazers team missing half their roster), a reporter asked LeBron James how his squad stacks up against Milwaukee and the league's other elite teams.
LeBron gave a surprisingly candid response: "<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lakers-players-believe-changes-must-be-made-before-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We ain't on their level</a>."
When asked if he believed the Lakers could eventually reach the Bucks' level this season, <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/lebron-james-admits-lakers-are-not-on-championship-level#:~:text=After%20the%20game%2C%20LeBron%20James,a%20flat%2C%20%22No.%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James replied</a>, "Where they are right now? I don't know. Do I think we can reach the level where Milwaukee is right now? No. Is that what you want to hear from me? No. We can't get to where they are right now. They're the defending champions for a reason and I guarantee you if you would've asked teams coming out of the bubble if they could get to the level that we were playing at when we won a championship, they would've said the same thing."
Let's flashback to the championship group for a second, shall we?
It may seem like it's been 16 years or so since LeBron led LA to a title in the bubble, but, incredibly, it's been less than 16 months. The Lakers beat the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Finals on Oct. 11, 2020. The team's two cornerstones, Anthony Davis and LeBron, remain, but the rest of the rotation has been turned over completely.&nbsp;
So, how did this team go from raising the Larry O'Brien trophy, to being four games under .500 and fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament just a year-and-a-half later?&nbsp;
Let's break it down.&nbsp;
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In the offseason following their championship, LA's major move was trading Danny Green (a significant two-way contributor on their title team) and LA's 2021 first-round pick (Jaden McDaniels) to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Dennis Schroder. That summer, LA re-signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (three years, $39 million) and used its cap space to ink free agent Montrezl Harrell to a two-year, $18.9 million contract. They also brought in Wesley Matthews and Markieff Morris for the veteran minimum and inked Marc Gasol to a two-year, $5.3 million deal.&nbsp;
In mid-March, in the days leading up to last season's trade deadline, the Lakers were cruising. More than halfway through the 2020-21 campaign, the Lakers' were 15 games above .500 and owned the league's second-best record at 28-13.&nbsp;
At that point, the Lakers made a decision that would come back to haunt them. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but the Lakers arrived at a fork in the road and chose the wrong path. They've been headed downhill ever since. (Over the past 11 months, the Lakers are 43-51 in the 94 games they've played).&nbsp;
On the eve of the 2021 trade deadline, the Lakers and Toronto Raptors were engaged in serious discussions on a potential deal that would have sent Kyle Lowry to LaLa Land, giving LeBron and Co. the established veteran point guard (and proven winner) the team desperately needed. The Lakers and Raps <a href="https://theathletic.com/2477311/2021/03/25/what-the-lakers-were-willing-to-trade-for-kyle-lowry-and-what-it-says-about-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> were close to finalizing a swap sending Schroder, Caldwell-Pope and some draft capital to Toronto in exchange for Lowry. Yet, in the hours right before the deadline arrived, "the sticking point was the inclusion of Talen Horton-Tucker," <a href="https://theathletic.com/2477311/2021/03/25/what-the-lakers-were-willing-to-trade-for-kyle-lowry-and-what-it-says-about-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Jovan Buha and Bill Oram of The Athletic</a>.&nbsp;
"Rob Pelinka, the Lakers' vice president of basketball operations, insisted that price was too high for the 35-year-old Lowry, and that he was not willing to trade Horton-Tucker, the 20-year-old combo guard who has emerged as a valuable rotation player for the Lakers in his second season," Buha and Oram <a href="https://theathletic.com/2477311/2021/03/25/what-the-lakers-were-willing-to-trade-for-kyle-lowry-and-what-it-says-about-the-future/">reported</a>.
Looking back, it's impossible not to wonder how the future of several franchises might have changed if the Lakers had been willing to pony up for Lowry, who is now averaging 13.0 points and 8.1 assists per game for the Heat. This is the same Heat team that is poised to enter the All-Star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference.&nbsp;
As we know, the Lakers stood pat at last year's deadline and would struggle mightily in the six subsequent weeks. Over a 25-game stretch from mid-March through the first week in May, LA posted an 8-17 record.
The Lakers would eventually be eliminated in six games by the Suns in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. Anthony Davis returned to the Lakers' starting lineup in Game 6 after missing the second half of Game 4 and all of Game 5 due to a groin injury, but logged just five minutes before limping off the court. It was the first and only time in LeBron's career that he lost a first-round series (he had been 14-0).
"What matters to me is getting this team back healthy," James told reporters after the loss to Phoenix.
Well, as it turns out, Pelinka and James were unwilling to run it back with the same squad and hope the group would avoid injuries.&nbsp;
Instead, the Lakers rolled the dice, agreeing to one of the most dramatic and controversial trades in recent NBA history.&nbsp;
On the evening of July 29, both Woj and Shams <a href="https://twitter.com/shamscharania/status/1420855153410854925" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Lakers had consented to take on Russell Westbrook (and his onerous contract).&nbsp;
A week later, the trade was officially announced. LA had traded away Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma and the draft rights to Isaiah Jackson (whom the Lakers had selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft) in exchange for Russ and several future second-rounders.&nbsp;
The justification from the Lakers was that they viewed Westbrook as an offensive powerhouse that could lighten the load LeBron had been forced to carry.&nbsp;
The Lakers rounded out their roster this past offseason by adding Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington, Kent Bazemore, Carmelo Anthony, Malik Monk and Rajon Rondo. They gave Kendrick Nunn the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.9 million for two years). They also re-signed Horton-Tucker to a three-year deal worth $32 million.
Shockingly, despite advanced analytics that confirmed he was a near-perfect fit playing alongside LeBron, the Lakers decided not to bring back Alex Caruso, who had excelled as a role player in LA. Caruso's aggressiveness and versatility on the defensive end, as well as unselfishness on offense, made him an ideal wingman to AD and King James.&nbsp;
However, having Westbrook on the books for $44.2 million in 2021-22 and another $47.1 million in 2022-23 undoubtedly played a part in Pelinka's decision to let Carouso leave.&nbsp;
Still, as he explained on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-the-lakers-botched-alex-carusos-free-agency-and-lost-a-key-piece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JJ Redick's "Old Man and the Three" podcast</a> back in November, Carouso had hoped to re-sign with the Lakers and was even willing to give them a hometown discount. Before ultimately accepting the offer he received from Chicago (a four-year, $37 million contract, though the final season only carries a $3 million guarantee), <a href="https://twitter.com/oldmanandthree/status/1458257821405954052?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caruso said</a> he and his agent "went back to L.A., asked if they could do the same, they said no. We asked for something else that was a little bit less; they said no."
As it turns out, the concerns many critics envisioned over the summer related to potential issues arising from the addition of Westbrook have reared their ugly head. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Westbrook's declining athleticism has hamstrung the former All-Star.
At various points this season, Westbrook's alarming regression has been uncomfortable to watch. In the closing minutes of LA's victory over the New York Knicks last weekend, Russ found himself alone in the corner and as he was about to launch a three-pointer, the home crowd <a href="https://twitter.com/FanMahome/status/1490172360892329985">screamed at him not to shoot</a>. Coach Frank Vogel yanked him out of the lineup in overtime vs. New York. In the Lakers' embarrassing loss to the Bucks on Tuesday, Westbrook was benched for the final 14 minutes of the game, including the entire fourth quarter. Russ sat out Wednesday's loss to Portland with a "lower back" injury.&nbsp;
His counting stats on the season are solid (18/7/7), but the peripheral numbers are putrid, and his plus/minus is the worst on the team. This season, the Lakers have been outscored by 123 points with Westbrook on the floor, whereas they have outscored their opponents by 35 points with Russ on the bench.
The situation has careened toward rock-bottom this month. Over the Lakers' last four games, Westbrook is shooting just 27% from the floor, 15% from downtown and 55.0% from the free-throw line. He's also leading the league in turnovers.
Yet, now that the 2022 trade deadline has passed, we know that Lakers fans have no choice but to hope Russ can somehow locate his confidence and contribute to winning.&nbsp;
It has been rumored this week that the Houston Rockets were willing to trade John Wall to the Lakers for Westbrook, but Pelinka was reportedly unwilling to include LA's 2027 first-round pick, which Houston was demanding. Will the decision come back to bite LA, as refusing to include THT at last year's deadline did? Even if Wall failed to live up to expectations, would it have amounted to addition by subtraction?&nbsp;
Although Monk has been fantastic, and Melo has given LA as much as they could have hoped for, Howard, Ellington and Bazemore have failed to deliver. Ariza is averaging 4.2 points while shooting 36% from the floor. Rondo is no longer on the roster. Nunn, hampered by a bone bruise in his right knee, has yet to log a single second in an NBA game this season. Horton-Tucker is converting career-lows from the floor (41%) and behind the arc (27%). Despite playing nearly six more minutes per game, THT is averaging fewer assists this season (2.7) than he did in 2020-21, while still committing 1.5 turnovers a night.
Sum it all up, and you see why the Lakers have lost more than half of their games and find themselves in ninth place in the West, despite LeBron authoring the greatest season in NBA history by a 37-year-old.&nbsp;
This is a particularly bitter pill for Lakers fans to swallow considering the team purportedly had several different options to choose from this summer when shopping around their Kuz/&rsquo;Trez/draft picks package, including a deal for Sacramento sharpshooter Buddy Hield. In that scenario, the Lakers could have held onto KCP and added Hield, and the combined salary of both players still would have been $8 million less than Westbrook's cap hit of $44.2 million.&nbsp;
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To be fair, it's worth noting that in 2020-21, Westbrook played his best basketball of the season after the All-Star break. Over the Wizards' final 35 games of the season, he averaged 23.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 13.4 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting a respectable 44% from the floor, 32% from behind the arc and 72% from the FT line. Washington closed the regular season by going 17-6 over their final 23 contests and advanced to the playoffs.&nbsp;
Will Russ and his teammates feel less pressure now that the deadline has passed? LeBron and the Lakers don't need Westbrook to dominate the ball and chase triple-doubles, but they do need him to focus on playing the best defense of his career and help facilitate the offense, especially when James needs a breather.&nbsp;
If Russ cannot shake out of his slump, LA will have a very tough time getting back on track and achieving the goals they set for themselves back in October.&nbsp;
And if Los Angeles fails to right the ship (wasting a year of "Prime LeBron" in the process), the team's fans will look back with rage on the terrible trades and free-agency failures over the past 12 months that led to the Lakers' demise.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer delves into the errors of the Lakers' ways following their championship success one-and-a-half years ago.

How the Lakers managed to turn a contending team into a sub-.500 mess

The Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, and Toronto Raptors discussed a three-team trade at length Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The framework would send&nbsp;Cam Reddish&nbsp;and&nbsp;Alec Burks&nbsp;to the Lakers,&nbsp;Goran Dragic&nbsp;and draft pick compensation to the Knicks, and&nbsp;Talen Horton-Tucker&nbsp;and&nbsp;Nerlens Noel&nbsp;to the Raptors, league sources told HoopsHype.&nbsp;Kendrick Nunn&nbsp;was also mentioned as a potential addition to the trade talks, sources said.
Source: <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2022/02/10/nba-sources-lakers-knicks-raptors-trade-talen-horton-tucker-cam-reddish-goran-dragic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Scotto/HoopsHype</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;This possible deal is notable on a few fronts. The Knicks just acquired Reddish from the Hawks, but the young wing has appeared in just five contests since being dealt. Horton-Tucker has been considered the most valuable available player the Lakers have to offer teams. Meanwhile in Toronto, Goran Dragic has played in just five games all season. He is on an expiring contract and making $19.4 million this season.

Cam Reddish, Talen Horton-Tucker and Goran Dragic were among the players noted in the deal.

Lakers, Knicks, Raptors have talked three-team trade

The Los Angeles Lakers seem to understand that they can't compete for a championship as currently constructed. Following Tuesday's blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, LeBron James said as much.
"It tells me we ain't on their level," James <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33250361/los-angeles-lakers-feel-urgency-make-changes-trade-deadline-nears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a>. "I mean, I could have told you that before the game."
According to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33250361/los-angeles-lakers-feel-urgency-make-changes-trade-deadline-nears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Dave McMenamin</a>, the Lakers' players realize that "the roster is not working, and something must be done to get the team back on course with Thursday's trade deadline fast approaching."
This "suspicion had been mounting for weeks, if not months," but it became clear following Tuesday's loss to the Bucks (which was Los Angeles' fifth loss in their last seven games).
James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook have only played 18 games together this season, and the Lakers are 10-8 in those games. However, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33250361/los-angeles-lakers-feel-urgency-make-changes-trade-deadline-nears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sources told McMenamin</a> that "standing pat ... is not seen as a viable option by players on the team."
The Lakers have been shopping Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and their 2027 first-round pick in recent weeks, but teams <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lakers-shopping-talen-hortontucker-kendrick-nunn-no-one-is-biting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">don't seem to be interested</a>. Los Angeles <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/trade-talk-another-spotify-greenroom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;offered this package to the Detroit Pistons for Jerami Grant, but the Pistons rejected the offer.
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The Lakers chose to prioritize Horton-Tucker last offseason when he was a restricted free agent, giving him a three-year deal worth $32 million. The 21-year-old has potential, but he hasn't taken the leap that the Lakers hoped for this season. In 25.7 minutes per game, Horton-Tucker is averaging just 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 steals on .405/.248/.797 shooting splits. He is earning $9,500,000 this season, followed by $10,260,000 next year and a player option worth $11,020,000 in 2023-24.
Nunn has yet to play in a game this season due to a bone bruise in his right knee, and the Lakers have <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lakers-kendrick-nunn-ruled-out-until-march-with-bone-bruise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled him out until at least March</a>. He's earning $5,000,000 this season, with a player option worth $5,250,000 next year. Last season with the Miami Heat, the 26-year-old averaged 14.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 threes in 29.5 minutes per game, while shooting 48.5% from the field, 38.1% from three and 93.3% from the free-throw line.
It remains to be seen if the Lakers can pull off a significant trade with these assets.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka "will continue to collaborate with James leading up to the deadline," just as the two worked together on the Lakers' offseason moves (including the Russell Westbrook trade and free-agent signings), <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33250361/los-angeles-lakers-feel-urgency-make-changes-trade-deadline-nears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writes</a> McMenamin.
The Lakers are currently 26-29, putting them outside of the playoff picture in the Western Conference. The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
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The Lakers' players are pushing for changes ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, and standing pat is not seen as a viable option.

Lakers' players believe changes must be made before trade deadline

Kendrick Nunn has yet to suit up with the Los Angeles Lakers this season, as he's been dealing with a bone bruise in his right knee and experienced multiple setbacks.
On Tuesday, head coach Frank Vogel revealed that Nunn will be sidelined until at least March.
"He did have a follow-up exam recently... and we are able to say now that he&rsquo;s likely not going to be able to be back before March," Vogel <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2022/2/8/22924587/lakers-injury-update-news-kendrick-nunn-bone-bruise-return-date-timeline-frank-vogel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a>. "But we&rsquo;re still optimistic that he plays for us this year.&rdquo;
When asked if there's a possibility that Nunn could miss the entire season, Vogel <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2022/2/8/22924587/lakers-injury-update-news-kendrick-nunn-bone-bruise-return-date-timeline-frank-vogel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">replied</a>, &ldquo;Anything is possible, but we are hopeful that he plays for us this year."
The Lakers will play 16 games in March and six games in April, so it remains to be seen if Nunn can recover in time to return down the stretch.
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Last offseason, Nunn signed with the Lakers on a two-year deal worth $10.25 million (with a $5.25 million player option for 2022-23). He <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1422666393716133895" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turned down larger offers</a> from other teams because he wanted to be a Laker and compete for a championship.&nbsp;
The 26-year-old averaged 14.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 threes in 29.5 minutes per game last season with the Miami Heat, while shooting 48.5% from the field, 38.1% from three and 93.3% from the free-throw line.
The Lakers are currently 26-29, which puts them in the Western Conference's ninth seed. Los Angeles has the NBA's 14th-ranked defense (allowing 107.5 points per 100 possessions) and 23rd-ranked offense (scoring 106.5 points per 100 possessions).

Kendrick Nunn has yet to suit up with the Lakers due to a bone bruise in his knee. Now, he's been ruled out until at least March.

Lakers' Kendrick Nunn ruled out until March with bone bruise

A new intriguing suitor for [Josh] Richardson though is the Lakers, given their collection of assets. The team has been shopping a package of Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and a future first-round pick now for several weeks in hopes of landing an impact veteran and sources tell MassLive that Horton-Tucker and a future pick has been offered for Richardson.
Source: <a href="https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/02/sources-josh-richardson-trade-interest-from-lakers-jazz-and-other-playoff-teams-emerging-as-celtics-weigh-options.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Robb/MassLive</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Robb also reports that the Jazz and Timberwolves have shown interest in Richardson. The 28-year-old is averaging 9.9 points per game for the Celtics and shooting 40.0% from long range. The Lakers don't have many viable trade assets, and multiple reports have said the aforementioned package is their best shot at landing an upgrade.&nbsp;

Brian Robb also reports that the Jazz and Timberwolves have shown interest in Richardson.

Lakers offered Talen Horton-Tucker, draft pick for Josh Richardson

The Los Angeles Lakers have been extremely underwhelming so far this season, so it&rsquo;s no surprise that the front office is looking to make some moves prior to the NBA trade deadline.
The Lakers are currently 23-24, which puts them in the Western Conference&rsquo;s eighth seed. Frank Vogel <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-lakers-have-put-frank-vogel-in-a-very-difficult-position" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seems to be coaching for his life</a>, Russell Westbrook was recently benched after <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-russell-westbrook-experiment-has-been-a-huge-failure-for-lakers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struggling mightily</a> and the Lakers have been linked to just about every trade candidate.&nbsp;
Los Angeles has been very active leading up to the Feb. 10 deadline. However, it&rsquo;s unclear if the franchise has the assets to pull off the kind of splashy moves that they're looking to make.
Here&rsquo;s what Kevin O&rsquo;Connor of The Ringer <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/1/24/22898436/lakers-russell-westbrook-rumors-frank-vogel-all-star" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> about the Lakers&rsquo; recent trade talks: &ldquo;They&rsquo;re calling teams offering a future first, Kendrick Nunn, and Talen Horton-Tucker, who has underwhelmed this season, and no one is biting yet.&rdquo;
Longtime NBA insider Marc Stein <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/trade-talk-another-spotify-greenroom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Lakers offered this same package to the Detroit Pistons for Jerami Grant.&nbsp;
The Lakers chose to prioritize Horton-Tucker last offseason when he was a restricted free agent, giving him a three-year deal worth $32 million.
While THT is still just 21 years old and has a lot of untapped potential, he hasn't taken the leap that the Lakers expected, averaging just 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.9 steals in 26.9 minutes, while shooting 41.5% from the field, 25.3% from three-point range and 78.5% from the free-throw line.
&ldquo;The Lakers&rsquo; problem is THT just isn&rsquo;t valued highly enough by teams and that 2027 pick is a long time from conveying,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Connor <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/1/24/22898436/lakers-russell-westbrook-rumors-frank-vogel-all-star" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writes</a>.
This season, Horton-Tucker is earning $9,500,000 (followed by $10,260,000 next season and a player option worth $11,020,000 in 2023-24).
Nunn is earning $5,000,000 this season, with a player option worth $5,250,000 next year. The 26-year-old has yet to suit up for the Lakers, as he's recovering from a bone bruise in his right knee.
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The Lakers have been very active in trade talks ahead of the Feb. 10 deadline, but do they have the assets to make a splash?

Lakers shopping Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn: 'No one is biting'

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Three of the four California NBA franchises have now resided in the Sour Rankings for multiple consecutive weeks.&nbsp;
This might be the worst check-in to date. The Los Angeles Lakers, with a coach on the brink of getting fired, an avalanche of roster criticism and a storm of rumors, have taken the No. 1 spot in these rankings. Not far behind are the Sacramento Kings, who continue to let an attainable Play-In bid slip away while trade gossip engulfs their own headlines. And the L.A. Clippers, while battling admirably, approach a criticial franchise inflection point with this week's trade deadline.
It is wild on the West Coast, and don't expect things to calm down anytime soon.
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that repeat themselves throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they will be updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.&nbsp;
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst power rankings. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
</div>
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The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going:
</div>
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;The Houston Rockets managed to sneak out this week after going 1-1 with a nice win over the Utah Jazz and a "good effort" loss to the Golden State Warriors. KJ Martin tallied 14 points, 3 assists and 2 steals in that Friday defeat off the bench. Also, a shoutout to Rio Grande Valley prospect Daishen Nix, who is putting up over 27 points per game for Houston's G League affiliate this month.&nbsp;
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10. Utah Jazz (30-17)
Expectations are high in Utah. This is a reigning No. 1 seed that needs to take the leap to legitimate title contender, and as of this recent stretch, the Jazz simply aren't there. Utah is 3-7 in its last 10 games with an 18th-ranked defense over the past two weeks. The Rudy Gobert slander is back, but as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rudy-gobert-has-a-point" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nekias Duncan wrote recently</a>, he's far from the main problem with this defense.
The Jazz are reportedly looking for <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jazz-looking-for-wing-defenders-on-trade-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wing defenders on the trade market</a>, which could sorely help while teams run rampant against Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, and even Royce O'Neale.
(Last week: unranked)
9. Los Angeles Clippers (23-25)
The Clippers and their injury-plagued roster keep battling, and went a solid 2-2 with close losses to the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets this week. They've been a bottom-10 team on both ends recently, but are still solidly ninth in the West, so LAC remains in a limbo state ahead of the trade deadline.&nbsp;
If the Clippers are truly<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/clippers-reportedly-willing-to-discuss-majority-of-veterans-in-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> willing to discuss most of their veterans in trade talks</a>, teams should be lining up to make offers for Nic Batum. The 33-year-old continues to be one of the league's most underrated complementary players. He's up to a career-high 64.9% True Shooting percentage and has been lights-out from beyond the arc while consistently taking tough defensive matchups.
(Last week: 9)
8. Portland Trail Blazers (20-26)
Anfernee Simons has almost singlehandedly given Portland joy. He's averaging 25.0 points and 7.2 assists per game in the month of January, while the Blazers have quietly gone a respectable 7-4 this month. Portland is now three games up on the Kings for the final Play-In bid in the West, and that should be comfortable breathing room given Sacramento's state right now.
The Blazers have 5 games in 7 days coming up, including matchups against Minnesota, Dallas and Chicago. If they can break .500 in that stretch, they might leave the Sour Rankings entirely.
(Last week: 2)
7. Atlanta Hawks (21-25)
Of course, the Hawks' best stretch of winning comes when trade rumors are swirling. Atlanta has taken its last four games, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets this week. Trae Young is averaging 31.3 points and 9.0 assists per game during the streak while canning 47.6% of his three-pointers, so he's on fire.
Onyeka Okongwu has also blended in seamlessly with the starters while Clint Capela has been out. De'Andre Hunter is on track to the tune of 18.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Is it too early to be back on the Hawks train?
(Last week: 1)
6. Boston Celtics (24-24)
Jayson Tatum's 51-point bombshell on Sunday essentially saved the Celtics from a potential No. 1 ranking this week. He now has the most 50-point games (5) in franchise history, and he is 22 years old (!!!). It's been a brutal year for Tatum, so Celtics fans certainly hope Sunday's performance was a spark.
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Jayson Tatum delivered for us tonight with a 51-point performance that fueled a 116-87 win over the Wizards. <a href="https://t.co/HcrvPH0UMP">pic.twitter.com/HcrvPH0UMP</a>
&mdash; Boston Celtics (@celtics) <a href="https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1485460341513498624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Meanwhile, the same team also went scoreless for seven crucial fourth-quarter minutes and blew a winnable game against Portland. In a 2-2 week, the Celtics move up by default against a struggling middle pack in the East. Perhaps a fully-healthy starting five is what the team has always needed.
(Last week: 3)
5. New York Knicks (23-24)
So the Knicks have a sneaky 10th-ranked offense and fifth-ranked defense over the past two weeks. I know it doesn't reflect much in the record (1-2 this week) or today's rankings, but I do think good things are slowly happening.
From what I've seen and read, the biggest gripe appears to be that Tom Thibodeau still won't fully unleash his young talent. Immanuel Quickley has started just 2 of his 43 games played. Quentin Grimes has maximized his bench role with quality two-way play. Miles "Deuce" McBride has graduated from the G League. There's a lot of excitement around these backcourt players in particular and the fans are hungry for more.
(Last week: 4)
4. Indiana Pacers (17-30)
The Pacers' state of affairs hasn't meaningfully changed for over a calendar month. So this time, I'm giving the floor to Justin Holiday, who has been a bright spot in dim places for Indiana. The eldest Holiday brother is shooting a scorching 42.0% from beyond the arc and averaging 13.4 points per game in January, while being one of the few plus perimeter defenders on the roster. He's another Batum-level role-player who, if I were GM of a contender, I'd heavily pursue before the trade deadline.
(Last week: 6)
3. Washington Wizards (23-24)
Fortunately, the Wizards don't seem all too concerned with <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bradley-beal-likely-to-decline-player-option-team-has-not-talked-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bradley Beal's likely free agency</a> this offseason. Unfortunately, their on-court slide continues after an 0-3 week with losses to the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Celtics. Washington started 10-3 and has since gone 13-21 with the league's 22nd-ranked offensive rating and 26th-ranked defensive rating. The Wizards have two more games this month and some extended time off before the schedule ramps back up in February.&nbsp;
(Last week: 8)
2. Sacramento Kings (18-30)
So the Kings are <a href="https://theathletic.com/3078346/2022/01/19/insiders-think-a-ben-simmons-deal-gets-done-plus-a-pulse-on-teams-desperation-factor-nba-trade-deadline-roundtable/?source=nbatw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> thinking about acquiring Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris from Philly and... I just don't know if that's how you get out of 15 years' worth of directionless mediocrity. They're both great players, but do they significantly raise the ceiling when the Sixers would get a haul in return?&nbsp;
Sacramento is 2-8 in its last 10, and this quote from the aformentioned report by Sam Amick sums things up nicely:
"The widely held belief is that this front office, with general manager Monte McNair in his second season after working for all those years with Morey in Houston, simply must do a deal of significance now. To no one&rsquo;s surprise, there has been a collective loss of faith in the prospect of this core evolving into a contender in the West."
(Last week: 5)
1. Los Angeles Lakers (23-24)
The Lakers' woes have been the talk of the NBA for the past week. I don't need to add anything because an article and a video clip will cover everything you need to know. Frank Vogel appears to be coaching for his job every game, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-lakers-have-put-frank-vogel-in-a-very-difficult-position" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as Alex Kennedy wrote, that's pretty brutal.</a> As for this roster, let JJ Redick explain:
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&ldquo;[The Lakers] are a bad team! &hellip; These are guys that are past their prime, that&rsquo;s the reality.&rdquo; &mdash;<a href="https://twitter.com/jj_redick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jj_redick</a> <a href="https://t.co/VMzY26su1B">pic.twitter.com/VMzY26su1B</a>
&mdash; First Take (@FirstTake) <a href="https://twitter.com/FirstTake/status/1483497600623910913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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I'll ask: What is the best return we can reasonably expect from a package of Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton-Tucker and a 2027 first-round pick?
(Last week: 7)
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The Lakers and Kings occupy the top two spots in this week's rankings.

NBA Sour Rankings: Collapses in California

Frank Vogel says Kendrick Nunn's return to the floor has been "delayed" because his knee didn't respond well to the ramp up in order to play.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanwardla/status/1483255662935171073?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: Nunn, who was one of the key offseason acquisitions by the Lakers front office, has yet to appear in a game this season for Los Angeles. In his first two years with Miami, Nunn averaged 15.0 points on 45.8% shooting from the field.

Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn has experienced a setback on his knee, and a return date remains unkown.

Kendrick Nunn (knee) experiences 'setback', return date unknown

In short order, Kyrie Irving is going to cross a defender out of his shoes, and Klay Thompson will begin raining threes like it&rsquo;s nobody&rsquo;s business.
The rich stand to get richer in Brooklyn and San Francisco while the Los Angeles Lakers live as paupers.
LeBron James has been incredible, and despite his best efforts, the Lakers brought in the New Year one game under .500. Worse yet, they haven&rsquo;t exactly looked like a team that knows what it&rsquo;s doing &mdash; neither on the basketball court nor in the front office.&nbsp;
Having ripped off three wins in a row, there&rsquo;s still a chance for them to turn things around. But until they do, the team&rsquo;s relative lack of success opens it up to plenty of second-guessing.
In an alternate reality, the Lakers could&rsquo;ve had Kyle Lowry and Buddy Hield, the latter of which was in town Tuesday evening. Perhaps they could still have Montrezl Harrell and Alex Caruso. Maybe, just maybe, they could&rsquo;ve still resembled the champion they once were.
Instead, they&rsquo;ve look every bit like puzzle pieces that don&rsquo;t fit.
Had Anthony Davis not gotten injured during last season&rsquo;s first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, there&rsquo;s no telling where the 2020-21 season would&rsquo;ve ended for LeBron and company.&nbsp;
In most instances, a defending champion that saw one of its top players' season end early would exhibit a certain amount of patience and attempt to plug holes rather than blow the entire team up, but not in Tinseltown.
Between then and now, the team added talent without considering fit, playing an NBA version of supermarket sweep. A mad dash down the aisles, the Lakers have grabbed any and everyone they could, and they&rsquo;ve done so all at the expense of the identity and harmony that brought them a championship in 2020.
Aside from James and Davis, Dwight Howard and Talen Horton-Tucker are the only members of the championship team that remain. And although Avery Bradley was technically a member of the squad, he didn&rsquo;t play in the Orlando Bubble. In all, the team brought in nine new faces, not including replacement players.
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And to what end?
It would be foolish to believe that the Lakers would have reinvented themselves without James at least blessing the moves, if not downright advocating for them. But to this point, it&rsquo;s been more of a car wreck than a smooth drive down the I-110 freeway.
Russell Westbrook appears to have lost a step and hasn&rsquo;t exactly thrived alongside James and Davis. It&rsquo;s damning considering the fact that Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were sent to Washington along with Harrell. And it gets even worse when one considers that Westbrook&rsquo;s $44 million salary probably had something to do with the team deciding to let Caruso take his talents to Chicago.
According to Kuzma himself, a deal that would have <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/laker-news-kyle-kuzma-reveals-he-was-almost-previously-traded-to-the-kings-for-buddy-hield" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent him to Sacramento</a> in exchange for Hield &ldquo;was done,&rdquo; but the Lakers obviously opted to pursue the deal for the bigger-named superstar &mdash; not the piece that would have better augmented the team&rsquo;s core duo.
Last February, seeking an upgrade at point guard, the team pursued Toronto Raptors veteran Kyle Lowry. A deal failed to materialize because the Lakers reportedly <a href="https://theathletic.com/2477311/2021/03/25/what-the-lakers-were-willing-to-trade-for-kyle-lowry-and-what-it-says-about-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refused to include Horton-Tucker</a>.&nbsp;
On. Jan. 5, with Los Angeles sitting one game over .500 at 20-19, one can&rsquo;t help but to wonder how a Lowry-Hield-James triumvirate would&rsquo;ve looked, particularly when Lowry and Hield possess the gifts that seem to be lacking around James in Los Angeles.
Hindsight might be 20/20, but in the NBA, the best general managers can tell the future.
At the time the Westbrook trade was made, it wasn&rsquo;t completely unreasonable to believe that he could create for both Davis and James and relieve some of the pressure on James to play point guard. But Westbrook&rsquo;s poor decision-making and errant shooting has undercut his value to the team. That they sacrificed so much to bring him in can&rsquo;t be ignored.
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Russell Westbrook 😬 <a href="https://t.co/rR7EHchRu3">pic.twitter.com/rR7EHchRu3</a>
&mdash; The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ActionNetworkHQ/status/1478579437968916480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Needing to build a core around Westbrook, James, Davis, Carmelo Anthony and Kent Bazemore, the Lakers would eventually re-sign Horton-Tucker and sign both Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn. Together, the three represented much-needed upside, but the moves that followed created logjams that only made Vogel&rsquo;s job more difficult.&nbsp;
At least on paper, Trevor Ariza and Dwight Howard brought championship pedigree back to the team, as did Rajon Rondo. But each are over the hill, with Rondo, ironically, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/cavs-smart-and-swift-to-acquire-backup-point-guard-but-is-rondo-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">being traded to Cleveland</a> in a move that amounted to a roster spot-opening, cost-cutting measure for the franchise.
Brought in individually, when including DeAndre Jordan, the Lakers managed to add talented players to a core consisting of generational talents.&nbsp;
But as a team?&nbsp;
They have left a lot to be desired. Someone watching from afar could fairly wonder whether the team has just been making it up as it went along.
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In the NBA, you&rsquo;re only as good as your record, not your past accomplishments. So as Kyrie&nbsp; prepares to suit up for Brooklyn and Klay prepares to write a new chapter in his story, we can&rsquo;t help but to look at the Lakers and wonder whether the team&rsquo;s moves will ultimately pay off.
Perhaps the team will find a way to trade for Hield; after all, he did showcase his unlimited range by knocking down seven threes last night. Maybe the likes of Jerami Grant can be had.
But if there&rsquo;s one thing the Lakers shouldn&rsquo;t have been looking for this season, it&rsquo;s a savior. Yet, that appears to be precisely where we are.
In an alternate reality, the team could&rsquo;ve kept its core together while still adding Anthony, Howard, Monk and Nunn.&nbsp;
Maybe they trade for Lowry, maybe they don&rsquo;t.&nbsp;
Maybe Hield is drilling three-pointers at Crypto.com Arena, or maybe he isn&rsquo;t.
But based on what the Lakers have done and the return yielded, there&rsquo;s reason to second-guess all that has transpired.
As we approach the halfway point of the season and the Lakers fail to resemble close to a championship contender, we can&rsquo;t help but to remember when they did.
We similarly can&rsquo;t help but to wonder what they will eventually become.&nbsp;
Unfortunately, the early returns don&rsquo;t suggest much.

The Lakers haven't looked like a championship contender, and at this point, it's fair to wonder whether the current core ever will.

It’s hard to look at the Lakers' struggles and not wonder, 'What if?’

DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points after missing two weeks in the NBA's health and safety protocols, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 115-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
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DeMar DeRozan WENT OFF for 19 PTS in the 4th vs. the Lakers 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/C11TO9RNFE">pic.twitter.com/C11TO9RNFE</a>
&mdash; NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1472772232095014916?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Lonzo Ball added 19 points as the Bulls snapped a two-game losing streak. It was Chicago's first game since Dec. 11 after two were postponed.
LeBron James had 31 points, Carmelo Anthony added 21 and Russell Westbrook 20 as Los Angeles dropped its second straight.
With the Bulls trailing by a point in the final minute, DeRozan hit an 18-footer for a 111-110 lead with 52 seconds remaining. Following a Lakers miss, DeRozan missed a shot but then was fouled with 15.6 seconds left after Ball grabbed the offensive rebound. DeRozan then hit both free throws for a 113-110 edge.
Before having two games postponed last week because of a COVID-19 outbreak, the Bulls had 10 players in the health and safety protocols. That number is down to four right now, including All-Star Zach LaVine.
Although the Lakers haven't had any games postponed, they currently have six players &mdash; Kent Bazemore, Avery Bradley, Talen Horton-Tucker. Dwight Howard, Malik Monk and Austin Reaves &mdash; and coach Frank Vogel in the health and safety protocols.
Assistant David Fizdale served as coach on Sunday.
It also was Los Angeles' first game without forward Anthony Davis, who sprained his left knee on Friday and is expected to miss four weeks.
Chicago led nearly the entire first half and by as much as 10 points before taking a 61-59 halftime lead. The Lakers took a 65-64 lead early in the third quarter on a floater by Isaiah Thomas.
The teams traded baskets and leads for the remainder of the quarter before Los Angeles took an 84-83 advantage into the fourth.
The Lakers stretched the lead to 90-85 early in the final quarter on a three-point play by DeAndre Jordan, but a short while later DeRozan hit a turnaround jumper in the lane to put the Bulls op top 94-93.
With Chicago up 99-96, Anthony nailed back-to-back 3-pointers (both on passes from James) for a 102-99 Los Angeles lead with 5 minutes to go. The game remained tight until DeRozan took over late.
TIP-INS
Lakers: F Trevor Ariza made his season debut after sitting out the first two months with a right ankle injury. The 17-year veteran finished with three points in 15 minutes off the bench ... G Kendrick Nunn was cleared from the health and safety protocols on Sunday, but remains sidelined with a right knee bruise.
Bulls: Coach Billy Donovan doesn't expect any of the remaining players in the COVID protocols to return to game action before Christmas. Chicago plays Monday and Wednesday and then is off until Dec. 26. Of those four, Donovan also said only F Troy Brown Jr. is experiencing anything other than mild symptoms.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Host the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
Bulls: Host the Houston Rockets on Monday.
___
More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points after missing two weeks in the NBA's health and safety protocols, leading the Bulls to a 115-110 win.

DeMar DeRozan leads Bulls over Lakers 115-110 in return

Here are the five best fits with T&mdash;nah, just kidding. This isn&rsquo;t going to be that simplistic.
But a handful of teams should value Orlando Magic swingman Terrence Ross, who is being made available for trade, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthleticNBA/status/1470457239097987084" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a report from The Athletic</a>. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the desired compensation is highlighted by a first-round pick.
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Terrence Ross had the bench going wild 😳 <a href="https://t.co/qXkFA7bWVy">pic.twitter.com/qXkFA7bWVy</a>
&mdash; NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1468805359896719363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Maybe the Magic could get one, but who knows? The 6-foot-6 wing and 10-year pro will turn 31 years old in February and will make $11.5 million next season &mdash; the last of a <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2811230-report-terrence-ross-re-signs-with-magic-on-4-year-54m-contract#:~:text=Orlando%20Magic-,Report%3A%20Terrence%20Ross%20Agrees%20to%20Re%2DSign%20with%20Magic%20on,4%2DYear%2C%20%2454M%20Contract&amp;text=The%20Orlando%20Magic%20maintained%20a,according%20to%20ESPN's%20Adrian%20Wojnarowski." target="_blank" rel="noopener">$54 million four-year extension signed in July 2019</a>. Ross&rsquo; salary for this current campaign is listed at $12.5 million.
Additionally, the University of Washington alum is statistically having his worst season since 2017-18, averaging <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/players/terrence-ross-31">10.8 points on 39/30/86 shooting splits</a>, save for his free-throw percentage; it&rsquo;s well below his 13.9 points on 41/35/86 splits in now six seasons with the Magic. But, in fairness, the Magic are 5-23 as of this writing, and you may remember how motivated PJ Tucker looked while toiling away on last season&rsquo;s nomadic Houston Rockets.
Riiight, so let&rsquo;s give Ross a break here.
Ross provides shooting that is consistently streakier than it is sharp. Anyone who never averaged more than 16 points per game in a season but <a href="https://youtu.be/mX03ZWmiwzI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">managed to go for 51</a> before might be one of the reasons there is a microwave badge in every NBA 2K game.
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That said, there are several playoff (and maybe even championship) teams with high aspirations who may want to add an affordable, athletic veteran swingman to bolster their offense.
Boston Celtics
Orlando receives: Juancho Hernang&oacute;mez ($6.9 million), Romeo Langford ($3.8 million) and draft capital
Boston receives: Terrence Ross
Josh Richardson makes $11.6 million this season and $12.2 million next, making for a perfect match... but what for? Juancho Hernang&oacute;mez, like Richardson, is signed through next season, but at only $7.4 million. If you package him with 2019 No. 14 overall pick Romeo Langford, who makes $5.6 million next season, the financial end is taken care of. From there, the Celtics have their <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Celtics.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">own firsts and a ton of second-rounders</a> to play with. The Magic would also get a buy-low option in Langford, which reflects much of what they&rsquo;ve been accumulating in their rebuild anyway.
Denver Nuggets
Orlando receives: JaMychal Green ($8.2 million), Bol Bol ($2.2 million) and draft capital
Denver receives: Terrence Ross
Will Barton ($15.6 million) and Monte Morris ($8.5 million) are the closest to Ross&rsquo; $12.5 million, but neither should be included in this deal. With injuries to Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. &mdash; both of whom could be out for the season &mdash; the Nuggets do need massive help offensively. They signed Davon Reed last week, <a href="https://www.numberfire.com/nba/player-news/186824/davon-reed-starting-for-nuggets-saturday-in-place-of-inactive-will-barton">who has already started a game</a>, and the team is currently 24th in scoring, 27th in pace, and dead last in free-throw attempts.
Even with injuries, a healthy JaMychal Green only sees 14.4 minutes per contest, and Bol Bol is in Year 3 of waiting, only having logged 47 minutes in 10 appearances so far. Green has a player option for $8.2 million next season, and Bol is in the final year of his rookie deal. If any team is inclined to finally free Bol, it&rsquo;s Orlando. <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Nuggets.htm">Regarding draft picks</a>, the Nuggets shouldn&rsquo;t give a first, but they have control of most of their own, save for two. Their 2023 pick is lottery protected and in Oklahoma City, and their 2025 first is top-five protected in, of all places, Orlando. Denver controls its second-rounders from 2024 through 2026 and every year from 2028 onward.
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Phoenix Suns
Orlando receives: Dario Sarić ($8.5 million), Jalen Smith ($4.5 million) and draft capital
Phoenix receives: Terrence Ross
Again, Orlando is 5-23: Why would the Magic care if Sarić &mdash; who tore his ACL during the NBA Finals &mdash; can&rsquo;t play, so long as they could get some sort of draft relief for Ross? Saric is even due $9.2 million next season. Smith, who was drafted No. 10 overall in 2020, is the ultra-rare lottery pick whose <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-admit-mistake-drafting-jalen-smith-no-10-overall-in-2020-declining-thirdyear-option-rare-is-phoenix-suns-declining-jalen-smiths-third-year-option#:~:text=The%20Suns%20declined%20Jalen%20Smith's,this%20season%20at%20%244.4%20million." target="_blank" rel="noopener">third-year option was declined;</a> he will be a free agent in 2022. That said, the Magic could talk themselves into throwing him out there and seeing if he&rsquo;s worth keeping on a team-friendly deal.
To this point, the 21-year-old Smith has logged 213 career minutes over just 35 appearances. This trade package will likely be offered for a Ross-type of player (in salary, not necessarily style), and it works here if you think he&rsquo;s an upgrade in the spot currently occupied by Landry Shamet. The Suns control <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Suns.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all of their upcoming picks</a> except for their 2022 first-rounder, which is top-12 protected and in OKC, and will likely convey.
THREE-TEAM DEAL CANDIDATES 
When you go through NBA rosters, you realize that the league has a problem related to financial classes. There are a bunch of max or near-max players, and numerous others making sub-$5 million, with a thinning middle-class. Therefore, trades are harder to construct than they seem, even though Ross&rsquo;s salary isn&rsquo;t exorbitant by league standards. That said, other teams could make a play for Ross, but it&rsquo;ll need to be aided by at least one other team&rsquo;s participation.
The Los Angeles Lakers have 10 players on minimum contracts, none higher than the $2.6 million slots occupied by Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Rajon Rondo, DeAndre Jordan, Wayne Ellington, Avery Bradley, and Dwight Howard. Kendrick Nunn, who still hasn&rsquo;t played yet, is getting $5 million this season, with a player option for $5.3 million next year. Talen Horton-Tucker is at $9.5 million this season, followed by $10.2 million and an additional $11 million player option afterward, but he most likely isn&rsquo;t getting moved for Ross.&nbsp;
The Philadelphia 76ers can&rsquo;t trade Furkan Korkmaz until March (which is really after the season because the deadline is in February), but it would be ideal to give Ross his minutes. Korkmaz is getting, on average, $5 million a year between now and the 2023-24 season. Danny Green is getting $10 million, but don&rsquo;t count on it. The Sixers will need some help, which will be hard to find mid-season. (Bad enough that they can&rsquo;t <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-ben-simmons-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">figure out that whole Ben Simmons thing</a>, huh?)

Bryan Fonseca ponders which teams should target Magic microwave scorer Terrence Ross, who is reportedly available.

Examining potential trade destinations for Terrence Ross

According to The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania, Detroit Pistons wing Jerami Grant is one of the NBA&rsquo;s most sought-after players in potential deals as February&rsquo;s trade deadline approaches. This shouldn&rsquo;t come as a surprise, even with Grant sidelined due to torn ligaments in his right thumb. Once Grant is fully healthy, which should be around February anyways, he can provide a huge boost to just about any team that's looking to compete this year.
Since taking on more of an expanded role with the Pistons, he has averaged 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game on a respectable 55.2% True Shooting percentage. Presumably on a winning team in his next stop, Grant should slide back into the coveted-role-player spot he thrived in during his stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets.
Detroit is 4-21 this season, and No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham is beginning to blossom and showcase his superstar upside. With Grant&rsquo;s injury, now is the perfect time to let Cunningham spread his wings even further and recoup some assets for the Pistons&rsquo; best trade chip.
Charania mentioned many teams have been calling Detroit consistently about Grant, including the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. So, which teams should be blowing up the Pistons&rsquo; phone lines trying to acquire a souped-up three-and-D wing who can fit like a glove on any roster? Let&rsquo;s examine some potential blockbusters revolving around Grant.&nbsp;
Utah Jazz
Excuse me, because the idea of a potential Rudy Gobert and Grant frontcourt pairing would be filthy for Utah. Immediately, this trade vaults the Jazz into the Western Conference&rsquo;s top tier of Finals contenders alongside the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.
If the Jazz wanted to make an all-in Finals push, getting aggressive for Grant is the perfect scenario. Imagine them trotting out this starting lineup: Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Grant, Gobert. Wow, I can&rsquo;t stop thinking about how lethal that would be on top of their copious amounts of depth.
But how can the Jazz get into the Grant sweepstakes? Here&rsquo;s where it gets interesting.
Pistons receive: Royce O&rsquo;Neale, Joe Ingles, Jared Butler, draft compensation
Jazz receive: Jerami Grant
Detroit receives a culture-setter in O&rsquo;Neale, a young asset in Butler, plus some future draft capital. Ingles likely never suits up for the Pistons and either gets flipped or hits the buyout market to join another win-now contender.
In the end, Utah trades two fan favorites. However, the risk-reward ratio certainly leans heavily toward the latter. Grant in Utah is one of my favorite fits.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards are beginning to fall back down to Earth after their hot start to the season. With pressure building as Bradley Beal inches closer to unrestricted free agency this offseason, Washington could be a sleeper team to watch out for when it comes to making an aggressive move to appease their superstar.
Grant alongside Beal and Spencer Dinwiddie would be a lot of fun in D.C., but what&rsquo;s the cost? It won&rsquo;t be cheap for the Wizards, who would have to give up one of their top young assets in the process.
Pistons receive: Deni Avdija, Aaron Holiday, Thomas Bryant, draft compensation
Wizards receive: Jerami Grant
For a team in win-now mode, acquiring Grant makes a lot of sense for the Wizards. He would slide right into the starting lineup and provide two-way versatility they desperately need. Although giving up a prospect like Avdija is a tough pill to swallow, getting aggressive could be what seals the deal on Beal staying long-term in the nation&rsquo;s capital.
Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic is a superstar. Kristaps Porzingis is playing with <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kristaps-porzingis-renewed-confidence-leading-to-resurgent-season-with-mavericks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confidence we haven&rsquo;t seen since his New York Knicks days</a>. However, the Mavericks are in desperate need of another reliable long-term piece. Grant would be such a fun fit alongside Doncic and Porzingis, providing exactly what they need as look to make noise in the Western Conference playoffs.
Detroit likely asks for a player like Jalen Brunson in return, but Dallas should be very wary of doing that. Brunson is earning himself a hefty pay raise as he moves toward restricted free agency, but he&rsquo;s more than worth that price after his recent stretch of excellent performances for Dallas. The Mavericks could still make an interesting offer, countering with the following package:
Pistons receive: Dwight Powell, Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Green, draft compensation
Mavericks receive: Jerami Grant
Detroit nabs an intriguing prospect in Green on top of two ideal complementary pieces to go alongside Cunningham. Powell would be able to stretch the floor, plus Finney-Smith is a bulky wing who can add some defensive value.
Dallas would be such an interesting team if they were to get serious on chasing Grant as their third option behind Doncic and Porzingis.
Minnesota Timberwolves
For years, Minnesota has been missing a complementary frontcourt piece to pair with Karl-Anthony Towns&rsquo; elite offensive ceiling. Well, the answer could be poached on the open market with Grant.
Grant is the perfect piece to fit alongside Towns, Anthony Edwards and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell. On a solid contract that won&rsquo;t break the bank (although a long-term extension should soon be in the cards wherever he lands), Grant provides exactly what is missing in Minnesota.
However, the cost could be a gut punch to some Timberwolves fans who are enjoying the recent development of their young role players:
Pistons receive: Taurean Prince, Jaden McDaniels, Leandro Bolmaro
Timberwolves receive: Jerami Grant
As you can see, no draft compensation goes back to Detroit here because they receive arguably the two best young assets listed thus far in McDaniels and Bolmaro. Both would certainly fit Detroit's long-term plan of building around with Cunningham as their No. 1 option. Meanwhile, Minnesota gets a much-needed boost in terms of two-way versatility.
This feels like a true win-win scenario for both sides, another deal I absolutely love the more I look it over.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings are in desperation mode and seem like a strong candidate to shake things up sometime soon. Adding a piece like Grant would help alleviate some serious defensive concerns, plus add a true No. 2 scoring option alongside De&rsquo;Aaron Fox.
The question is, would the Kings&rsquo; likely offer be enough to entice Detroit?
Pistons receive: Marvin Bagley III, Tristan Thompson, draft compensation
Kings receive: Jerami Grant
There has been smoke billowing around a potential Bagley-to-Detroit deal for quite sometime. If the Pistons still wanted to explore that possibility, now could be the perfect time. The only way this package gets Sacramento into the final conversations is the draft picks. Would the Kings be willing to give up two future protected first-round picks to acquire Grant? If so, Detroit would certainly listen intently.
Detroit brings back the 2018 No. 2 overall on top of some eye-opening draft picks, which could become gold mines soon enough. Is this a trade that makes sense for both sides?
Portland Trail Blazers
Blazers superstar Damian Lillard is frustrated, and he&rsquo;s begging for more help. Portland is stuck in the bottom-end of playoff contenders with no real chance to climb the Western Conference rankings anytime soon. With one of the NBA&rsquo;s most inconsistent defenses, Grant would be a much-needed spark to place alongside Lillard and C.J. McCollum as a true third option.
The question is, what makes sense for Detroit in a potential return package for Grant? As mentioned, the interest around Grant is robust, so Detroit will demand a pretty compelling package in exchange for the 27-year-old. Perhaps this three-for-one swap could be compelling for both sides:
Pistons receive: Robert Covington, Nassir Little, C.J. Elleby, draft compensation
Blazers receive: Jerami Grant
Detroit lands an intriguing young asset in Little as well as some additional future draft capital. Who knows if Covington even plays for Detroit, but for including him is necessary for salary-matching purposes. I love this deal for the Blazers, and I bet Lillard would appreciate it as well.
Los Angeles Lakers
Somehow, the Lakers always make their way into discussions for any potential impact player. From the Pistons&rsquo; point of view, does Los Angeles even have enough to make an enticing offer for someone like Grant? I would say it&rsquo;s doubtful, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean the Lakers won&rsquo;t try.
The Lakers&rsquo; best trade asset at this point is Talen Horton-Tucker, who signed a three-year extension this past offseason. THT is their lone remaining young asset as well, so he would certainly need to be included in a deal for Grant. Horton-Tucker is an intriguing fit to think about alongside Cunningham in Detroit, but does it really move the needle for the Pistons' front office? Unless the Lakers toss in some serious draft assets, the Pistons likely hang up the phone and look elsewhere without hesitation.
For Los Angeles, this is probably the best offer they can come up with in this scenario:
Pistons receive: Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, Rajon Rondo, draft compensation
Lakers receive: Jerami Grant
So, it&rsquo;s really a package built around THT and a little draft capital. Rondo would immediately get bought out, and Nunn wouldn&rsquo;t be in the Pistons&rsquo; rotation. This trade feels very one-sided, which makes a Lakers offer very low on the potential totem pole. Since Charania did mention the Lakers&rsquo; interest, though, it&rsquo;s intriguing to see what they could actually offer.
***
Every team in the NBA could use a player like Grant, who provides endless amounts of versatility and winning qualities. After proving he can handle an expanded role in Detroit, Grant&rsquo;s price has increased significantly.
Stay tuned for the latest on the Grant situation, plus what should be a very explosive trade deadline. Also, check out recent articles breaking down potential trade destinations for <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-ben-simmons-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ben Simmons</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/exploring-trade-destinations-for-domantas-sabonis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Domantas Sabonis</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-myles-turner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Myles Turner</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-caris-levert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caris LeVert</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/finding-the-perfect-team-and-deal-for-terrence-ross" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Terrence Ross</a>.

As trade winds begin to pick up around the NBA, Jerami Grant is a hot commodity. Which teams make sense as a landing spot?

Examining potential trade destinations for Jerami Grant

Following the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; 107-83 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, Anthony Davis didn&rsquo;t mince words when discussing his team&rsquo;s struggles &mdash; particularly in the third quarter (when Los Angeles was outscored 40-12 by Minnesota).
"We sucked," Davis said. "No defense. Can't score. That's not just this third quarter; every third quarter we've played this season, we&rsquo;ve come out slow, lackadaisical offensively and defensively. We got to get it together. Why? I can't tell you. But we gotta do a better job. I mean, we scored 12 points in the third quarter, and they scored 40. That&rsquo;s the game right there."
Davis is right: The Lakers have been outscored in the third quarter in eight of their 13 games (including five times by double digits). On the season, Los Angeles has been beaten 408-321 in third quarters.
&ldquo;Obviously, our effort hasn't been good enough in the third quarter consistently throughout this season," Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. "We&rsquo;re talking about it and we&rsquo;re challenging our guys to be better. We were getting beat to loose balls, we weren&rsquo;t keeping our man in front of us, we weren&rsquo;t taking pride in protecting the rim, and I think we lost four or five loose balls consecutively. We gotta be better with that.&rdquo;
Davis said that this defeat felt very similar to the Lakers' loss against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 6, since the team played with barely any effort or energy in both contests.
&ldquo;We gotta decide who we want to be. A championship team? That's not us right now,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;We're not winning a championship the way we're playing. We have to be better, and we have to care more for our wins at home and our wins in general. That was embarrassing. To be up five at the half&hellip; obviously, this team shoots a lot of threes and they have guys who can score the basketball, but there was just no effort in the third quarter.&rdquo;
&ldquo;No sense of urgency,&rdquo; Wayne Ellington said. &ldquo;We come out slow, trying to get into the game instead of coming out at full speed. It's been a struggle for us and something that we gotta be better at. Tonight, there was no excuse. We were all disappointed.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Sometimes, we come out and are fine; sometimes, we don't,&rdquo; Russell Westbrook added. &ldquo;The inconsistency is a problem.&rdquo;
The Lakers are now 7-6, which puts them in the Western Conference's seventh seed (and 4.5 games back from the first-place Golden State Warriors). 
Los Angeles currently has the NBA's 23rd-ranked offense (scoring 102.7 points per 100 possessions) and 14th-ranked defense (allowing104.4 points per 100 possessions).
&ldquo;What we can't do is point the finger [like], 'It was you! It was you! This play was you!' We have to stay together,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;And we stay together, but we also got to learn from the film. Film tomorrow is going to be big for us, to have another heart-to-heart about these types of games. We hate feeling this way. Obviously, we're going to lose games; everyone loses games. But [it's about] doing it the right way, having a team actually beat us and not beating ourselves. Those are the frustrating ones, when we beat ourselves&hellip; We hate losing games like that. But we have to learn from it and, most importantly, we have to stay together.&rdquo;
While the Lakers were missing LeBron James, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, Trevor Ariza and Austin Reaves on Friday night, Davis and his teammates felt that they still should&rsquo;ve won this game.
&ldquo;It's still fairly early &mdash; it's only game 13 &mdash; and we still don't have all of our guys back. But we have enough guys to win basketball games and we gotta continue to do what we do and play Lakers basketball,&rdquo; Davis explained. &ldquo;Some games we see it, some games we don&rsquo;t. We&rsquo;ll see it for a half, but the other half we don&rsquo;t&hellip; We gotta put together a stretch of games where we&rsquo;re playing our style of basketball for 48 minutes and live with that result.&rdquo;
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no excuse for us to come in and have a performance like we did tonight,&rdquo; Ellington added. &ldquo;That team is not better than us.&rdquo;
While the team is frustrated about these recent struggles, it&rsquo;s important to realize that the Lakers are going through an adjustment period after bringing in so many new players. Only three players returned from last year&rsquo;s squad: James, Davis and Horton-Tucker. They&rsquo;ve added 14 new players and while some are familiar faces &mdash; like Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley, who were on the team as recently as the 2019-20 championship season &mdash; it&rsquo;s taking time for this group to get on the same page.
&ldquo;We know that we&rsquo;re a good team," Davis said. "You think about the long-term and that big-picture goal, but we want to win now. And it just sucks because we don't know our full team, our full capability of what guys can bring to the team. But when we get everybody back, we know that we'll be a great team. But we still gotta do what we do, no matter who's on the floor. We still have to follow our principles on both ends of the floor.&rdquo;
"It's all new, man," Ellington explained. "We're all getting adjusted and we're all still learning each other. Obviously, we want to win games while we learn each other, but [it&rsquo;s tough]... Guys have been in and out and we really haven&rsquo;t had a steady lineup yet this season, and we understand that. We see the big picture. But at the same time, we feel like we could be jelling a bit better. But we also understand that it takes time and that this is a marathon. We have a veteran team [with] guys who have played a lot of games in this league, and nobody is ready to go crazy&hellip; It's a process, man. We're all learning each other and it takes time; it don't happen overnight... But I feel like it&rsquo;s going to start coming together, for sure.&rdquo;
The Lakers will look to bounce back on Sunday afternoon as they host the San Antonio Spurs, followed by a date with the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.&nbsp;

Anthony Davis called out the struggling Lakers after their 107-83 loss to the Wolves: "We sucked... We gotta decide who we want to be."

Anthony Davis rips 7-6 Lakers: 'A championship team? Not us right now'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Malik Monk scored five of his season-high 27 points in overtime, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a big deficit in the final minutes of regulation before surging in overtime for a 120-117 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Russell Westbrook had 25 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who improved to 2-2 while LeBron James is sidelined by a strained abdominal muscle.
Monk put on an impressive shooting display with four 3-pointers, and Anthony Davis had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Los Angeles. The Lakers trailed by nine in the fourth quarter before rallying to beat the Heat, who had won six of eight.
Bam Adebayo scored 28 points before fouling out and Kyle Lowry had 18 points and 11 assists for the Heat, who lost Jimmy Butler to a sprained right ankle in the first half. Butler scored seven points while playing the entire first quarter, but didn't return for the second.
Tyler Herro scored 27 points, but missed two 3-pointers in the final nine seconds of overtime in Miami's third loss in four games.
Herro also missed a 3 with 23 seconds left in regulation, but P.J. Tucker threw down a tying rebound dunk. Westbrook missed a jumper and Davis missed the tip at the buzzer, sending the Lakers to overtime for the second straight game.
Los Angeles jumped to a five-point lead in OT while Miami missed six of seven shots. Adebayo trimmed the lead to 119-117 with 23 seconds left before fouling out, and the Heat forced a five-second violation by the Lakers on the ensuing inbounds play — but Herro missed an off-balance 3-pointer.
Carmelo Anthony hit one of two free throws with 6.5 seconds left, and Herro missed again to end it.
Avery Bradley scored 17 points with a season-high five 3s for the Lakers.
Roughly 13 months after the Lakers beat the Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals in the Florida bubble, the Heat showed much more cohesion than the former champs until LA's stirring late rally. The Lakers have jettisoned all but three players from their title team — and of those three, only Davis was healthy for this meeting.
Miami’s Markieff Morris sat out against his former team with whiplash stemming from his altercation with Denver’s Nikola Jokic on Monday.
TIP-INS
Heat: Adebayo, Tucker and Herro all played despite nagging injuries. ... The Lakers played a video tribute to Morris and his role in their 2020 championship run during the first timeout.
Lakers: Dwight Howard fouled out with 8:50 to play. He didn't take a shot in 11 minutes. ... Kendrick Nunn spent his first two NBA seasons in Miami before signing with Los Angeles in August, but he has yet to debut for his new team while dealing with a bone bruise in his right knee. ... Austin Reaves and Rajon Rondo both sat out with hamstring strains.
TRIPLE TROUBLE
Westbrook had his second straight triple-double and his third with his hometown team. He extended his NBA record to 187 triple-doubles and scored two huge baskets in the final minute of regulation, but also committed eight turnovers and missed the probable game-winner in regulation.
SELDOM SEEN
Thanks to foul trouble for Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon in the first half, Udonis Haslem played a season-high five minutes in the 41-year-old big man’s third appearance of the season for Miami. Turkish big man Ömer Yurtseven also got four minutes in his most significant action of the year.
Haslem had played only five minutes this season, and Yurtseven had played just 22.
UP NEXT
Heat: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
Lakers: Host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
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Malik Monk scored a season-high 27 points and the Lakers beat the Miami Heat in overtime, 120-117.

Lakers rally late in regulation, hold off Heat 120-117 in OT

The NBA season is an arduous marathon that stretches out over 82 games and more than six months. Thus, it's unwise to put too much stock into one of the first ten contests of the year.
Nonetheless, some games end up meaning more than others, even if they take place in early November. Friday night's matchup with the defending champs in Milwaukee felt like such a game for the Knicks.&nbsp;
New York entered the evening riding a two-game losing streak after being badly beaten by the Pacers and Raptors earlier in the week. Prior to taking on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the mighty Bucks, coach Tom Thibodeau discussed how important it was for New York to get off to a solid start. However, Milwaukee jumped out to a massive lead early on, knocking down uncontested three-pointers from all over the court. Ten minutes into the game, Bucks' shooting guard Grayson Allen (14 points) had outscored the Knicks (13 points) by himself. When the first quarter ended, the Knicks slinked back to their bench with their shoulders slumped, down 21 points (38-17).
However, that's when Derrick Rose, playing just an hour away from his hometown of Chicago, sparked a furious comeback. On the Bucks' first offensive possession of the second quarter, Rose, who was extremely active on the defensive end all night, stole the ball from Pat Connaughton. Rose floated in a bucket from five feet two minutes later, followed by another runner in the paint and a driving layup. On the next possession, the point guard found Mitchell Robinson underneath for a dunk. The Knicks had life. They would slice the lead down to six near the end of the first half.&nbsp;
Feeding off Rose's energy on both sides of the ball, along with the boost provided by Julius Randle playing like the All-NBA version of himself, the Knicks continued to chip away at the Bucks' advantage until they seized the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter.&nbsp;
Once New York grabbed the lead, they never looked back. With three minutes left in the contest, the Knicks had built a 20-point lead of their own. The key to their second-half domination was ratcheting up their defensive intensity. In the first quarter, the Knicks allowed 38 points, as they watched the Bucks shoot 13-of-26 from the floor. In contrast, in the third and fourth quarters combined, the Knicks allowed just 35 points, limiting the Bucks to 11-of-33 shooting.&nbsp;
It marked the first time in franchise history that the Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit to record a double-digit victory since the NBA began tracking play-by-play in boxscores during the 1997-98 season.
Again, you don't want to place too much importance on a regular-season game played less than a week after Halloween, but there are certain inflection points in every NBA season.
At the end of the first quarter Friday night, the Knicks had been outscored by a whopping 49 points over their previous seven quarters, dating back to the start of the second half vs. Toronto. The tension was palpable among the always calm contingent of fans on #KnicksTwitter, with folks calling for Julius Randle to be shipped out of town and pleading for Thibs to make wholesale rotation changes.
By the end of the evening, the temperature had been turned down considerably. Speaking with reporters afterward, you could sense the pride and renewed confidence among many of the players.
"It says a lot about the character of our team," said Julius Randle, who outplayed Giannis and stuffed the stat sheet with 32 points (11-of-22 FGs), 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and three made three-pointers. "NBA games are long. What's special about our team is we fight. We have a lot of high-character guys."
Ask coaches and players, and they'll tell you the same: Good, contending NBA teams avoid lengthy losing streaks. That's what was at stake Friday night against the Bucks. (As an aside, one of the most remarkable stats in recent NBA history was during the decade of the 1990s, Michael Jordan's Bulls - excluding his retirement and half-season comeback - never lost three games in a row. Yes, in over 626 combined regular-season and playoff games, Chicago never lost three consecutive contests with MJ in uniform.)
"We needed that one," said RJ Barrett. "We found our defense. We kept going, kept pushing."&nbsp;
It will be interesting to see if the Knicks can build some positive momentum from this statement victory. They have a winnable game against the Cavs at home on Sunday before traveling to Philadelphia on Monday to take on the Sixers, who boast a conference-best 7-2 record. New York then hosts the Bucks on Wednesday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and his troops undoubtedly looking for revenge.
Knicks notes:
- Incredibly, in the 30 minutes Derrick Rose was on the floor Friday night, the Knicks outscored the Bucks by 31 points.
- On the season, Rose has posted an extraordinary cumulative plus/minus of +95 in his 198 minutes. That's the highest net rating in the NBA this season. Utah's Donovan Mitchell is the only other player in the league with a +/- higher than +79. &nbsp;
- Barrett once again reached the 20-point plateau for New York. Over his last four games, Barrett is averaging 26.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.8 made treys, while shooting a scorching 51.4% from the floor and 51.7% from downtown.&nbsp;
- Barrett has tallied at least 20 points, five boards and multiple three-pointers in each of the Knicks' previous four games. At just 21 years of age, he's the youngest player in Knicks franchise history with such a streak.&nbsp;
- Reminder: The following players were named to the 2020 All-Rookie team ahead of Barrett: Brandon Clarke (Grizzlies), Kendrick Nunn (Heat), Eric Paschall (Warriors), Terence Davis (Raptors), PJ Washington (Hornets) and Rui Hachimura (Wizards).

Tommy Beer describes how last night's comeback win against the Bucks could be an inflection point for the Knicks.