The LA Lakers took Julius Randle with the number seven pick in the NBA draft and now a Steve Nash trade could be in the works if the team continues to target Klay Thompson or Kevin Love as the Timberwolves and Warriors work on a trade deal and that could give Kobe Bryant some major support heading into next season and the future.
The Lakers and Warriors started talked talking about at a trade with Love and Klay Thompson before the draft and that could be on the back burner for now, according to ESPN.com, but still is a possibility. The Lakers took Randle, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound star from Kentucky and now he comes in after averaging 15 points and over 10 rebounds as a freshman for the Wildcats. The team went to the NCAA championship and he was considered to be one of the best prospects in the draft.
Last season the Lakers had a terrible season and now they have something to show for it, as they got a player in Randle that could have potentially been a top three pick. Joel Embiid made a stir after posting on social media that he was going to the Lakers, but clearly that did not work out and now he is with the Sixers and Randle fell to the Lakers after the Celtics took Marcus Smart at number six. The move is great for the Lakers, as they get a player who now has a chip on his shoulder and he is young and very talented.
According to ESPN.com, the Warriors continued to look at a Kevin Love trade and like the Lakers, the team also is looking at the possibility of signing LeBron James. The team balked at first with the Timberwolves about adding Klay Thompson and that opened up interest for the Lakers, who at the time wanted to offer the number seven pick with Nash. Now the team has Randle and likely will keep him, but they still may try to offload Nash and if they can pull off the right move, they could get a nice player alongside Randle and Bryant.
The Lakers have freed up cap space in the future over the past couple years and they still likely will have to make other moves to even have the chance at signing James or Anthony or both. The report from ESPN.com says that the Lakers have been trying to put together a trade package with Steve Nash and the number seven pick in the draft to clear more space to try and sign Melo and LeBron and one reason they need to free up so much is the size of Kobe Bryant's contract.
LeBron was set to make $20 million next season before opting out and he likely will need to take a slight cut if he wants to sign Carmelo Anthony to the Heat. ESPN.com reported that the team is looking into that situation, but that would mean leaving a ton of money on the table for Melo. Anthony is a premier scorer and he could fit with the Heat, but the Big 3 will have to make a sacrifice to do it and the Lakers are also looking into that possibility.
