The Lakers’ struggles this NBA season are not only because of injuries to Anthony Davis and LeBron James, but also due to the fact that their secondary talent does not fit their system.
The last few seasons, Los Angeles has been one of the best defensive teams and one of the better transition teams in the NBA, but that has not been the case this season.
They are still a fairly strong fast break scoring team, however, the Lakers rank just 14th in the league in defensive rating and really do not have the right supporting cast around their three All-Stars.
Trading Talen Horton-Tucker is something the Lakers are still interested in doing ahead of the trade deadline, but they are also interested in potentially moving some of their veterans on minimum-like contracts in order to try and add value anywhere they can.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Lakers Looking To Trade Bazemore Ahead Of Deadline
DeAndre Jordan remains a potential player to be traded on this roster, as is Kent Bazemore. After spending the 2020-21 season with the Golden State Warriors, Kent Bazemore signed a one-year minimum deal with the Los Angeles Lakers this past offseason.
Now in his 10th NBA season, Bazemore was expected to play a critical role for this team either in or out of the starting rotation on the wing, but since the first few weeks of the regular season, the veteran wing has seemed to fall out of Los Angeles’ rotation.
After averaging about 25.0 minutes per game through his first 12 games with the Lakers this season, Kent Bazemore has only played in nine games since the start of January and has averaged just 6.4 minutes per game.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Lakers Looking To Trade Bazemore Ahead Of Deadline
His trade value is definitely very minimal right now given his age and lack of production this season, but Los Angeles is expected to pursue possible trade avenues involving Kent Bazemore leading up to next week’s trade deadline.
Bazemore has not been listed as a key trade target for any team in the league, but these three teams could show some interest in him should they be able to acquire him from the Lakers at a cheap price.
