The Los Angeles Lakers have hardly made it a secret of their intention to pursue two max-level players during 2018 NBA free agency. At the top of their wish list is believed to be LeBron James and Paul George, though signing one or both far from a guarantee.
As it presently stands, the Lakers are only in position to sign one free agent to a max contract come the summer. But the team has long been reported to be pursuing avenues to shed salary prior to July.
Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle are the players who have surfaced most frequently in trade speculation, with the former in the second of a four-year deal, and the latter set to become a free agent.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are not only open to trading Clarkson and Randle, but Larry Nance Jr. as well:
The Los Angeles Lakers, needing to shed salary for summer free agency, had been hopeful of waiting until the end of the season to move Jordan Clarkson — owed $26 million beyond this season — but there’s a mutual desire to find something sooner than later. The Lakers have made it clear that Clarkson, Julius Randle and Larry Nance are available.
It was recently reported that the Lakers had a high interest in trading Clarkson or Randle. This marks the first public report of Nance also being on the trading block.
Eventually parting with Randle has seemingly become a widely expected scenario. His minutes and role have greatly fluctuated, leading to frustration for Randle.
Another option that would create a substantial amount of cap space is trading Luol Deng, but his contract is essentially untradeable, and the possibility is one the team are said to have given up on.
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