Aside from Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, there is another untouchable player in the Los Angeles Lakers’ lineup. According to team president Magic Johnson, the Lakers will not include high-flying forward Larry Nance Jr. in any trade discussions, even calling him the team’s secret weapon. Johnson told ESPN’s First Take that they received many calls inquiring about Ingram and Nance but they turned them down. “Larry is such a fundamentally sound basketball player,” Johnson said about Nance. According to ChatSport, Nance "averaged 7.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game" in 63 outings last season.
The Lakers picked the 6-foot-9 Nance Jr. 27th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. In his rookie year, Nance Jr. played 63 games, averaging 5.5 points and 5.0 boards. The Lakers earlier expressed their intention of trading Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson to create additional cap space for next season where they intend to pursue LeBron James and Paul George in 2018.
Lakers eyeing to trade Clarkson, Randle
Hoops Habit point out that Clarkson has nearly "three years and $37.5 million remaining" in his deal while Randle is in the last year of his contract with the Lakers. The Lakers are also saddled with the remaining three years and $54 million in Deng’s contract. If they get rid of the three, they have about $76.6 million to spend.
In addition to James and George, the Lakers could also pursue DeMarcus Cousins of the New Orleans Pelicans and Russell Westbrook. According to NBA.com, Cousins is in the last year of the four-year deal that he signed with the Sacramento Kings while Westbrook has yet to sign the supermax five-year offer worth $207 million from the Thunder.
James to form a super team
Podcaster Bill Simmons reported that James is set to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018 and form a super team with either George, Westbrook or Cousins with the Lakers, together with young guns Ball and Ingram. Recently, the Lakers. Recently, the Lakers were fined $500,000 for tampering with George while he was with the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers filed the complaint against the Lakers after Johnson expressed interest in signing George during a nationwide television interview. Luckily for the Lakers, they can still pursue George if his contract with the Thunder expires after the coming season. George landed with the Thunder after the Pacers traded him for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in the offseason. Dwyane Wade could be another option for the Lakers if he gets a buyout from the Chicago Bulls.
