NBA Rumours: No player among Lakers' young core is untouchable
What's the story?
According to sources, no player from the Los Angeles Lakers' young core is untouchable heading into this offseason.
In case you didn't know...
Kyle Kuzma was technically drafted by the Nets as the 27th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft and traded to the Lakers on draft night.
The heart of the matter
The Los Angeles Lakers aren't being particular about the way they are going to upgrade their roster this summer. Though they are not trading any player on the roster as of now, no player is considered off-limits in potential trade discussions with teams, according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times.
"While they like their young core and would prefer to keep those players growing together, they have told teams no player is untouchable in trades, according to multiple sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of trade and free-agent negotiations.
"To be clear, the Lakers are not actively shopping any of their players. They are willing to listen to offers and could move one of them — even a member of the talented young cadre of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram or Josh Hart — if an offer blows them away."
As per Spotrac, the Lakers front office has around $61.9 million in cap space for free agency. Paul George, who is from the Los Angeles area, has been linked to the Lakers since the 2016-2017 season. He is an option to opt out of his deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder and therefore is a potential target for the Lakers.
The Lakers had a terrific draft last year as they added Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma to a young core already consisting of Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle.
What's next?
The Lakers' first draft pick in 2018 isn't until No. 25 overall because their selection, which wound up being the No.10 pick, went to the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade.
Author's take
The Los Angeles Lakers will need to make bold moves next season to make it back to the postseason contention next year in a very competitive Western Conference.