The Lakers are on the cliff of one more colossal move in free organization in the event that they can really convince the Kings to assist them with getting Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Following their truly stunning marking of Sixth Man of the Year and previous Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell, it would have been reasonable for expect the Lakers were finished making sprinkles in NBA free organization. Be that as it may, as indicated by the most recent Lakers exchange bits of gossip, senior supervisor Rob Pelinka isn’t finished attempting to set off certain firecrackers.
In the night, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer affirmed before reports that the Lakers are undoubtedly following Sacramento Kings limited free specialist Bogdan Bogdanovic, and that they are investigating possible sign-and-exchanges to do as such:
In January, I reported that the Lakers had trade talks with the Kings, who offered Nemanja Bjelica and a pick to the Lakers for Kyle Kuzma, and Los Angeles countered by asking for Bogdan Bogdanovic. L.A.’s pursuit hasn’t stopped. On Friday, The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Eric Nehm reported that the Lakers are pursuing a sign-and-trade for Bogdanovic, who’s sign-and-trade deal to the Bucks fell apart. League sources confirmed the report: The Lakers are indeed pursuing Bogdanovic, though the Hawks are considered the favorites.
The Kings may not have wanted to trade Bogdanovic to the Lakers before the deadline, but now they don’t have much of a choice. The alternative is losing him to the Hawks (or another team with cap space such as the Knicks), to an offer sheet that’s more than they’d like to spend, multiple league sources say. Of course, the Kings could match any offer sheet he receives. But they just drafted a guard in Tyrese Haliburton, gave $163 million to De’Aaron Fox, and still have a disgruntled Buddy Hield. Maybe, just maybe, the Kings would be better off taking KCP and Kuzma even if it means helping their interstate rivals get better.
Presently, similarly as with all breaks, there might be an inspiration driving this. The Lakers have for some time been utilized as a bogeyman around the class, and this could be an endeavor to send a shot over the bow of the Hawks to get them to truly make good on an offer sheet for Bogdanovic to shield him from attempting to get to the Lakers. (It is likewise important that there have just been reports that Bogdanovic is required to sign an offer sheet with the Hawks, however nothing too concrete yet).
Yet, the Lakers’ advantage in Bogdanovic is likewise obviously genuine now, and after Pelinka and Co. stunned the world (and, supposedly, the Clippers) by getting Harrell on the mid-level special case, we truly can’t preclude them for any free specialist — even limited ones like Bogdanovic — until they put pen to paper. That is doubly the situation in Bogdanovic’s circumstance, in light of the fact that now we shouldn’t accept he’s truly going anyplace until he really does.
There are motivations to accept the Lakers could top the sign-and-exchange offer that the Kings had recently consented to with the Bucks due to how much their mentor loves Kyle Kuzma:
It’s no secret that Kuzma had his best years under Luke Walton, who’s currently the Kings’ head coach. It’s also no secret that they have mutual respect for each other. Kuzma was one the first players to thank Walton when the Lakers parted ways with him last year.
Additionally, we have an idea of what type of package the Kings would accept for Bogdanovic. The Bucks planned on sending Donte DiVincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova and D.J. Wilson to the Kings in exchange for Bogdanovic. Is a package of Kuzma and JaVale McGee much worse than that? And if it is, could they expand it to a sign-and-trade that includes Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Nemanja Bjelica? It’s possible.
Would Bogdanovic be an authoritative overhaul on Caldwell-Pope, given what the Lakers need? He would almost certainly be a downsize protectively, however he has a standing as a superior shooter — despite the fact that he shot more regrettable from three (37.2%) than Caldwell-Pope (38.5%) last season — which would follow the example (alongside Harrell and Dennis Schröder) of the Lakers hoping to update their offense on paper this offseason.
This additionally may not simply be tied in with picking between Caldwell-Pope and Bogdanovic, either, given the route exchanges with the previous are going starting at the present moment:
The Lakers need to try to brace their watchman profundity, and if Caldwell-Pope needs a payday and Bogdanovic simply needs to be a Laker, this may not be a genuine decision, and the Lakers may need to simply get the person who needs to be here.
Perhaps Caldwell-Pope returns, and possibly he doesn’t, however until something is consented to, the Lakers need to investigate every one of their choices. The uplifting news is, by sniffing around Bogdanovic, it shows up they’re doing precisely that. Such due industriousness and thinking of elective plans is all anybody trusting the group can retool for a rehash can request.
