After just trading away Rajon Rondo to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the first trade of the 2021-22 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers are still a franchise that is in peril. LeBron James is the only contributing player on this roster right now and with Anthony Davis out indefinitely due to a sprained left MCL, things are looking very bleak for this team.
Currently 17-19, the Lakers have the sixth-worst average point differential this season, they rank 28th in the league in turnovers and their offense as a whole ranks 25th in the league. Nothing about this team looks like a championship contender and there may not be many solutions for this team.
Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and LeBron James combine to make $120.6M this season and with the Lakers already being roughly $20M over the luxury tax line on the year, they have virtually no ways to pull off a big trade unless they are to leverage guys like Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn in a trade.
Both of these young players are making a combined $14.5M this season and since no team in the league is going to want to trade for Russell Westbrook, they are the only chance the Lakers have at adding talent to their roster ahead of the trade deadline.
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It is highly unlikely that Los Angeles will be able to pull off a big deal for another notable name, but one key name to keep an eye on in regards to the Lakers is sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic.
In his second season with the Atlanta Hawks, Bogdanovic has not looked as good as he did a season ago and could be a player the Hawks look to move in order to retain some of their young talents in the offseason.
Bogdanovic is making $54M through the 2023-24 season, with a player option in the final year of his contract, and Atlanta could run into a dilemma with their cap situation. Trae Young, John Collins, Clint Capela and Kevin Huerter all recently received massive contract extensions and if the Hawks are to keep guys like De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, they will need available funds to do so.
Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic could absolutely be two players the Atlanta Hawks shop around at the trade deadline and if available, Bogdanovic could fill an immediate need on the wing for the Lakers.
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As a team, Los Angeles has only shot 34.6% from deep this season and the Hawks’ shooting guard could be a better catch-and-shoot threat on the perimeter than Avery Bradley, Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore for the Lakers.
It would absolutely be difficult from a financial perspective for the Los Angeles Lakers to pull off this trade, but let’s take a look at what they could offer the Atlanta Hawks for Bogdan Bogdanovic.
