Lakers Part With A Fan-Favorite
The Trade:
Lakers acquire Chris Paul
Thunder acquire Danny Green, JR Smith and Alex Caruso
In this last iteration of hypothetical trades, the Lakers part with a fan-favorite in Alex Caruso, in addition to Green and Smith.
Caruso is extremely well-liked within the Lakers, and among their fan base. But if the Lakers want a chance to acquire Paul, there are only so many options on their current roster to make a trade work.
Enter Caruso, who actually was a part of the Thunder’s Summer League team back in 2016. This trade would send him back to Oklahoma City, although his stature within the league has raised significantly in the time since.
The Lakers only have a few options on their roster to match Paul’s jaw-dropping $38 million salary and obviously LeBron James ($37 million) and Anthony Davis ($27 million) will not be traded.
So the Lakers would have to build offers around their next two highest paid players, Green and Smith, plus fillers.
Paul and James are extremely close friends, who’ve talked about playing together in the past. Both are currently 35, and this is likely their last chance to become teammates.
