The Los Angeles Lakers have shown brief flashes of competitiveness this year, but are still one of the worst overall teams in the NBA. They're expected to be active at the trade deadline as they look to clear as much cap space as possible in order to be major players in free agency this summer.
Of the current players on the Lakers roster, two are expected to be shopped actively on the trade market: guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Julius Randle.
Lakers reportedly have a strong desire to trade Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle.https://t.co/M7ShTW9sNe pic.twitter.com/YXWJ5pG1nn
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation)
Even after this season is done, Clarkson will still be owed $25.9 million over the last two years of his contract, while Randle has a $12.4 million cap hit for next season. It makes all the sense in the world for the Lakers to want and move both of them. They need to be willing to do whatever it takes in order to lure LeBron James and Paul George to L.A., and that starts with financial flexibility.
Luol Deng's absurd contract is a huge barrier the Lakers have to try and work around if they want to sign two max contracts this summer, which is another reason why they are trying to move both Randle and Clarkson. As it stands, Randle is the one the team is most interested in dealing.
This is no knock on what these two are able to do on the court. It's all about clearing cap space for the summer of 2018.
And what a summer that will be.