Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Trade Destinations For Lou Williams
By Jason Oliver
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards have the best record in the Eastern Conference since Dec. 1 but within that period, their bench scored the second-fewest points per game in the league.
Scoring just 23.9 points off the bench, the arrival of Williams and his 18 PPG in Washington could see them take the leap into the East’s second tier.
Trey Burke hasn’t produced the numbers many expected since his arrival from the Utah Jazz and has left a void on the Wizards bench. Williams could be the one to fill it.
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Andrew Nicholson isn’t a guy that is going to change the dynamic of this Lakers team. His 8.8 minutes, 2.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game aren’t the missing piece in the Lakers’ quest for greatness, but he could have value down the line.
As Ivica Zubac starts to turn heads and stake his claim on the starting center spot, the Timofey Mozgov contract is only going to look worse. Mozgov is being paid roughly $16 million a season until 2019-20. Comparatively, Nicholson is being paid $6.9 million through to 2019-20.
As Mozgov is destined to ride the bench sooner rather than later, the Lakers are going to be looking for a little more bang for their buck. Should Nicholson arrive in LA, Mozgov and his $16 million a year will be going out the door the other way.
His contract will be difficult to shake, but crazier things have happened in the NBA.
With this move, the Wizards get a scoring punch off the bench and the Lakers get a more cost-effective backup big-man.