The 2018 NBA trade deadline is just over a week away, and the Los Angeles Lakers should be seriously looking into acquiring these expiring contracts before Feb. 8 arrives.
We all knew what the Los Angeles Lakers wanted to achieve this season. The plan has always been to create cap space for a potential spending spree during 2018 NBA free agency. Well the 2018 NBA trade deadline is nearly here, and they haven’t exactly accomplished that.
While this won’t be the last opportunity for the Lakers to do some maneuvering before free agency begins in July, doing something sooner rather than later would be ideal. Otherwise, they’ll start to lose leverage in trade talks, which will only end up costing Magic Johnson and co. more in the long run.
Hence, I’ve decided to take a look at a few expiring contracts the Lakers could seriously consider trading for in the next week and a half. They only have until Feb. 8 to strike a deal. Luckily for them, plenty of teams appear to be willing to make a move, which should open enough doors for Los Angeles to create aforementioned cap space. That is, if they’re willing to make a sacrifice or two.
Either way, it isn’t going to be easy for Johnson to find the right deal for the Lakers. For now, though, I’m putting on my general manager cap and attempting to do his job while we wait to hear about any trades the team ends up making.
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With that in mind, here are three expiring contracts for the Lakers to target as well as proposals I believe could do the job. I’m no expert, but these seem like solid solutions (or at least steps in the right direction) to creating the desired cap space.