If you were the LA Lakers

Would you be willing to part with the 2nd pick for Gordon Hayward,Trey Burke,12th pick in this years Lottery, Grant Jerret and Raul Neto?

That is a lot to give up for the 2nd pick. Is this being floated somewhere?

Hell no. Not even questionable. No way you absorb Hayward’s bad contract, a sub par PG (when you already have Clarkson) for what is expected to be a solid starting center at minimum in either Towns or Okafor, not to mention both of those guys will only make 3-6 mill for the next 3-4 years.

Hell no. Not even questionable. No way you absorb Hayward's bad contract, a sub par PG (when you already have Clarkson) for what is expected to be a solid starting center at minimum in either Towns or Okafor, not to mention both of those guys will only make 3-6 mill for the next 3-4 years.

I don’t think Okafor is going to be a special player in the pros. Towns has that ability, but Okafor, as polished as he is, still shoots 51% from the line, which is not good enough, especially for a guy who isn’t going to be dominant enough to require Hack-a Shaq to stop him but will be susceptible to this tactic in the late stages of games.

I also don’t think that Hayward has a bad contract. It’s over-market perhaps, but according to the PER efficiency rankings, he’s the #5 SF in the NBA, he does everything well on the offensive end other than maybe rebound, and he’s a very good piece even on a team which wants to contend. He’s also only 25, so he’s got a lot of prime years left.

Hayward’s contract isn’t bad at all, especially factoring in the new cap in the next couple years. He’s good. That said, you can’t do that trade. I disagree on Okafor, he’s gonna be a good one. Don’t agree with the Duncan comparisons, but IMO that’s a multiple AS level guy.

Potential of those you could draft are better than what you’d be getting from Utah. I bet you could also get a better trade from someone else for the 2 pick

My thoughts are these:

  1. I would not do that deal at all, because I think all of Towns, Okafor and Russell are going to be high level players in the NBA. I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion the Lakers will draft Okafor (assuming Towns goes first). We’ll see, should be interesting.

  2. I do think Hayward is actually a pretty good player. I caught him live against the Clippers this year and was really impressed with his overall game. His athleticism is not bad, and he’s far more than just a shooter.

  3. I really like Clarkson as a future piece for the Lakers.

  4. You need to build around high level stars in the NBA - trading the #2 pick, with the possibility of drafting a high level star there - for Hayward (a good but not great player) and Burke (sadly, just a guy at this point in his NBA career) doesn’t make sense to me, and you’re unlikely to get a high impact player at #12.

If I’m Lakers I keep pick and take Russell

I’m gonna use this thread to say that I think Mudiay will be a pretty pro than Okafor or Towns. Coming into this last season, him and Okafor were 1a and 1b and Mudiay didn’t do anything to drop his stock. I think he’s got the Rose/Westbrook ability to get to the rim at will. His ceiling is high even if his jumpshot doesn’t develop.

In this years draft, more is better. I am not sold on the one great player. Russell definitely won’t be great (Jimmy Jackson and Evan Turner did it all too), I have yet to see a great player hail from OSU, Russell would be the first in like forever, I have no faith in prospects from OSU. Towns and Okafor would be the safe picks, but in this years draft, the 12th pick can end up being the best player in the draft. That trade lineup could help produce a starting 5 IMO. Not the greatest but they have potential. Clarkston/Trey Burke Pg, Kobe Sg, Gordon Hayward Sf, Julius Randle/Grant Jerrett Pf, 12th pick Myles Turner C. Bench, Raul Neto, 27th pick Tyus Jones/ Rashad Vaughn/ Robert Upshaw. 34th pick Cedi Osman or Guillermo Hernangomez-(Hopefully one of the two becomes Pistons 2nd round pick). @bacon141 while it may be true, (a better trade to be found) mention an option, it’s all in fun. Carmelo & Tim Hardaway?

I don’t agree with this. First of all, I think it’s a little silly to say OSU doesn’t produce great pros. Jimmy Jackson played college ball more than 20 years ago (and was, actually, a star for a few years with Dallas). It’s like saying because Sean Higgins wasn’t a great pro, Tyus Battle won’t be. I think Russell is going to be really good.

I also think the top four guys in the draft are going to be much better than anyone you get around 10-15. Just an opinion, we’ll see. Myles Turner has a lot of potential but is also a huge project, from what I saw of him at Texas.

I’m thinking the proposed trade would have been a better option than D’Angelo Russell ha ha… And even Jahlil Okafor. Gordon Hayward and Trey Lyles alone, not to mention the add ons… With the salary cap rising with the TV deal, Gordon’s contract will look like peanuts, not a bad contract at all. Gordon is a playmaker, stat sheet stuffer and an experienced pro. But, of course, It’s all water under the bridge because it didn’t happen. Oh Well…

Hell no. Not even questionable. No way you absorb Hayward’s bad contract, a sub par PG (when you already have Clarkson) for what is expected to be a solid starting center at minimum in either Towns or Okafor, not to mention both of those guys will only make 3-6 mill for the next 3-4 years.