The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to get active in the trade market before the February deadline as they attempt to salvage the season. The Lakers have shown promise at certain points and been a total disaster in others, but free agency brings a lot of hope for the franchise with plenty more salary cap space to work with. However, the Lakers offseason plans have already fallen apart with the trade of Rajon Rondo which has the team looking at other options before the mid-season deadline.
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the Los Angeles Lakers have made calls to the Detroit Pistons about a trade for Brandon Jennings before the deadline approaches. It is unclear whether or not the Pistons fully intend on giving up Jennings, but they are making moves after the deal that sent Josh Smith to the Houston Rockets. Head coach Stan Van Gundy is not totally sold on the player personnel he has and Jennings could be the next to go.
The Lakers are in need of a point guard upgrade for the short-term and long-term. The team originally planned for their rotation to consist of Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin, but now they just have Lin who is not holding up as a starter. The Lakers like Jennings because he has proven to be a capable scorer and playmaker on the court and would help their point guard situation for the next few years after Lin departs in the offseason. Jennings is currently averaging 22.7 points in the last seven games and would work well alongside Kobe Bryant in the backcourt.
Jennings is being targeted over players like Jose Calderon and Deron Williams simply because he is the better option for the future having been relatively healthy along with putting up strong numbers. Shelburne reports that the Lakers have also made calls about acquiring Greg Monroe from the Pistons who is working off a one-year qualifying offer and is not expected to re-sign in free agency.
It is unclear the price for either player. Detroit will likely ask for a lot in return for Jennings. The Lakers could try and trade away Lin considering his contract is an easy grab, but they lack draft picks and assets to potentially get the deal done. The same goes for Monroe unless the team thinks to trade Carlos Boozer.
