The NBA's trade deadline will pass Thursday at noon Pacific Time.
The Los Angeles Lakers will likely be wrapping up practice at their El Segundo facility as the final phone calls conclude, and with fewer than 24 hours remaining, the mecca of trade rumors continues to live up to the hype. Sadly, more often than not, trade rumors are just that: hype.
At the 2013 deadline, talk of Dwight Howard being shipped out led to nothing. In 2014, both Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill had already re-registered new addresses with the post office before the Lakers sent away Steve Blake for Kent Bazemore, who is no longer with the team.
In 2015, the top name on the list is disgruntled Phoenix Suns' point guard Goran Dragic. As reported by Marc Stein and Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN.com, Dragic has become insistent on leaving Arizona with his preferred destinations being New York, Miami and LA.
Yahoo Sources: Suns much more focused on discussing Dragic deals w/ Celtics, Rockets, Kings, among others, than any teams on guard's list. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 18, 2015
Adrian Wojarowski of Yahoo! Sports quickly explained that the team had no intentions of only focusing on the Slovenian point guard's desired landing spots. That being said, the comments coming out of Phoenix on Wednesday sounded as though Dragic is on his way out sooner rather than later.
Goran Dragic on the Suns front office: "I don't trust them any more." — Paul Coro (@paulcoro) February 18, 2015
Whether or not Phoenix has lost leverage with Dragic's public comments, the point guard is a free agent at season's end. The choice Phoenix must make is whether to trade the point guard and get something back or watch him walk away for nothing at the end of the season. Considering Phoenix is still in a playoff position, trading away Dragic will likely also mean trading away the postseason.
Back to the Lakers, who have no chance of the playoffs, Jordan Hill has been the name most attached to trade rumors. The forward has stated publicly that he prefers to stay with the Lakers, though. Whether or not Hill moves, the Lakers will likley need to include the forward in a package to get anything worthwhile.
According to Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times, the Lakers have become reluctant to trade away rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson. In the past, the Lakers have not been willing to include injured rookie Julius Randle in any trade packages either. Further, the Lakers' next best asset involves finishing with a top-five draft pick for the 2015 NBA Draft.
Something interesting emerging as tomorrow's trade deadline approaches: Lakers are reluctant to part with rookie PG Jordan Clarkson. — Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 18, 2015
Everything considered, the Lakers would need to give up one or more of the aforementioned assets to get Dragic or any other player, really. One major issue with acquiring a player like Dragic would involve signing the player to a long-term contract and giving up financial flexibility that the Lakers have striven to achieve.
One major downside of trading for a player that would improve the Lakers would also be that LA could potentially play its way out of the bottom five and end up wasting away a chance at drafting an elite young talent. Approaching the trade deadline, the Lakers hold the fourth worst record in the NBA.
Regardless of the rumors, the clock continues to tick. When the Lakers begin their practice on Thursday morning, rumors will run rampant. By the time the Lakers end their practice, the deadline will have passed.
