The Los Angeles Lakers need all the help they can get – including some help in deals. Most know that the latest is the Rajon Rondo trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers with the purple and gold originally getting Denzel Valentine from the Cavs.
That deal was tweaked a bit on Monday with reports revealing that the Knicks have entered the picture. The Lakers will get the draft rights to Louis Labeyrie with Valentine now headed to New York.
The Cavs will also get the draft rights to Brad Newley, Wang Zhelin and cast from the Lakers according to Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell in a Twitter post.
Labeyrie is a 29-year-old second-round pick from the 2014 NBA Draft and is currently playing in Spain. The 6-foot-10 big man is averaging 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 20 minutes per game in Liga ACB. However, he is not expected to come to the NBA.
In all, the Knicks saved the Lakers about $4 million in salary and luxury tax. It also allows Los Angeles to open up a roster spot. It also rid them of the salary and tax of Valentine, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweeted.
Originally, the Lakers were expected to waive Valentine had the straight trade with the Cavs materialized. But with the recent developments, the purple and gold can now potentially sign Stanley Johnson who has proven his worth.
Johnson’s 10-day deal expired Sunday but the 25-year-old power forward has proven he deserves a longer stay with the Lakers.
For now, that remains unofficial. The Lakers know they need to add some players who can help their campaign – something that has been pretty disappointing so far.
If not Johnson, it remains to be seen who the Lakers will add to their roster. Aside from Rondo, another name who most speculate may be dropped is DeAndre Jordan – someone who has hardly proven efficient for Los Angeles this 2021-22 season.
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