Los Angeles Lakers Rumored To Trade Jordan Clarkson And Julius Randle
The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly interested in moving Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson to manage their cap space. Whether or not this is a move to attract incoming free agent superstars, Lebron James and Paul George, the team is very much interested in trading one or both of the players. According to LA Times’ Tania Ganguli, “Randle’s situation is worth watching, though. The Lakers would love to trade him if they could, and Jordan Clarkson fits in that category too. Both players know they have been offered in trades by the Lakers, and they’re handling it in different ways.”
The Lakers are looking to move Julius Randle to the Dallas Mavericks in return for Nerlens Noel. According to Lakers Nation, a recent report indicated that the two teams had already discussed a possible trade. However, the trade talks went down after Noel had surgery for an injury to his left thumb. As stated in Lakers Nation, Adrian Wojnarowski indicated on ESPN’s Full Court Press, “One conversation the Lakers did have, some initial talks, about Julius Randle, was with Dallas. He’s from Dallas, and Dallas is a team now that’s trying to accumulate some young assets. Nerlens Noel was a player who they sort of loosely had some conversations about. The Noel injury, though, essentially ended those. Noel would actually have to agree to a trade to L.A.”
Jordan Clarkson has been handling the trade rumors with a go-with-the-flow kind of mentality. He’s continuing to enjoy himself while wearing his Lakers uniform. On the other hand, although stoic about the situation, Julius Randle is kind of frustrated with the current trade talk rumors and his playing time.
Trading both Clarkson and Randle will not guarantee caliber players such as Paul George and Lebron James. However, moving players to other teams is a start to nudge their 11 wins, 22 loss record. The Los Angeles Lakers are currently discussing other trades to ensure that they get the best players.
These trade talks are only rumors as of the moment. However, it already conveys the idea of what the Los Angeles-based squad is trying to do. The future is bright for the rebuilding Lakers, and these trade situations might result in really good deals, so the management has to decide carefully.
