{"id":112848,"date":"2024-12-18T06:00:43","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=112848"},"modified":"2024-12-17T23:43:09","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T04:43:09","slug":"could-lakers-trade-for-their-former-lottery-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/18\/could-lakers-trade-for-their-former-lottery-pick\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Lakers Trade For Their Former Lottery Pick?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lonzo Ball<\/a> Lakers tenure was full of both excitement and disappointment. When the Los Angeles native was drafted with the number two overall pick to the Lakers, it seemed like a match made in heaven. He made the Second Team All-Rookie despite missing a chunk<\/a> of his rookie season. He was later traded in the blockbuster deal that teamed up Anthony Davis<\/a> and LeBron James<\/a>. Now, as it looks like a Bulls trade<\/a> may be imminent, and the Lakers trade rumors<\/a> are increasing, people are starting to wonder if a Lonzo Lakers trade could bring the LA native back home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Could Lakers Trade For Their Former Lottery Pick?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Chicago Bulls Trade Market<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Bulls are once again looking like sellers at this NBA trade deadline. For<\/span>\u00a0the Chicago Bulls, trade options are vast. While the team has shown flashes, the front office seems committed to rebuilding. They are actively shopping Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine<\/a> and Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107<\/a>. The same could go for any other player who doesn\u2019t align with their rebuilding plans.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the Bulls, a trade involving Ball, Vucevic, or other key players could give them an opportunity to reset. Moving on from Ball would free up cap space while allowing the organization to acquire draft assets or younger players with upside. LaVine and Vu\u010devi\u0107 have drawn interest from several teams. Ball\u2019s expiring contract and potential upside could make him a compelling trade chip for anyone willing to take a chance on his recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lonzo Lakers Trade Options<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Lakers have indicated that they are looking to upgrade on the margins this NBA trade deadline rather than making a big move for a star. The Lakers are reportedly<\/a> among the teams monitoring Ball’s situation in Chicago. General Manager Rob Pelinka has been exploring moves to improve the roster, and a deal for Ball could address the team\u2019s need for a backcourt facilitator.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lakers have also been linked to trade discussions involving Nikola Vucevic. Vucevic is averaging 21.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game this season. He would give the Lakers a reliable center to play alongside Davis. Packaging Vucevic and Ball together would be ideal for the Bulls trade hopes, as they would get off two veterans who could hurt their rebuilding process. The Lakers would get a known 20-point game scorer in Vucevic and a high-risk, high-reward gamble in Ball.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Lonzo Lakers Trade and Reunion<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Bringing Ball back to Los Angeles would be a full-circle moment for the player and the franchise. Ball previously displayed promising chemistry with James, and his defensive skillset could help the Lakers’ perimeter defense. However, his injury history poses a significant risk, and the Lakers must weigh the potential reward against the gamble.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lonzo is not the player he was when he last wore the purple and gold. After countless injuries, he is probably never going to be the player that many were hoping for when he was picked as a potential future star for the Lakers. That being said, maybe coming home could be the thing Ball needs to get back on his old career trajectory.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Lonzo Ball Lakers tenure was full of both excitement and disappointment. When the Los Angeles native was drafted with the number two overall pick to the Lakers, it seemed like a match made in heaven. He made the Second Team All-Rookie despite missing a chunk of his rookie season. He was later traded in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5284,"featured_media":96148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,8,26,62,4721],"tags":[240,38,667,474,457],"class_list":["post-112848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-bulls","category-lakers","category-nba","category-trade-rumors","tag-anthony-davis","tag-lebron-james","tag-lonzo-ball","tag-nikola-vucevic","tag-zach-lavine"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112848"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112852,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112848\/revisions\/112852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}