It’s panic time in Los Angeles, particularly for the Lakers, who sit at 22-22 with less than half of the regular season to go.
For some franchises, a .500 record at this point is a-OK. But the Lakers are always championship or bust. So they are scouring the market for help ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
One name to watch: Portland Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, who is widely said to be available ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline. Per Dan Woike of the LA Times, the Lakers have talked about trading for Brogdon (among, of course, a multitude of others).
Interestingly, the Lakers pummeled the Blazers by 134-110 count on Sunday. Brogdon finished with 23 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year with the Boston Celtics, he’s the type of heady pro who could bring a sense of organization and winning to LA.
It feels as if the Lakers are always trying to make a splash, but that has gotten them nowhere recently. They may be better off by acquiring a pro’s pro such as Brogdon.
They have also been linked to Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray, Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier, and Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, along with multiple others.
Brogdon is averaging 15.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists, shooting 44 percent from the field and 41 percent on 3-pointers. He’s due to make $22.5 million this season.
He’s undoubtedly drawing interest from multiple others, including the New York Knicks.
“Brogdon’s name has been mentioned as a potential Knicks target in their well-chronicled search for a guard to fortify their bench ever since they were forced to surrender Immanuel Quickley to Toronto in the OG Anunoby trade,” wrote Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
Late last week, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype wrote that the Knicks are “more likely” to trade Brogdon than Portland forward Jerami Grant. Both are drawing lots of interest ahead of the trade deadline.
“As a result, rival executives say Portland is viewing Grant as a positive trade asset, whereas some were hoping the Blazers would sell high on Grant early in his five-year contract as more of a neutral asset,” Scotto wrote. “Thus, executives believe Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon is more likely to be dealt than Grant if Portland makes a trade at the deadline since he’s considered less expensive to acquire. Rival executives who spoke with HoopsHype believe a fair asking price for Brogdon is a first-round pick and salary filler.”
Brogdon, 31, was acquired by the Blazers in the Jrue Holiday trade with the Boston Celtics before the season.
He carries NBA career averages of 15.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists, 0.8 steals with the Blazers, Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers. Along with Sixth Man honors last season, he won the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year Award while with Milwaukee.
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