A new era has begun in Los Angeles. Following one of their worst campaigns in recent years, the Lakers hired Darvin Ham as their new head coachto fix the mess that was the 2021-22 NBA season.
The other big question the Lakers had to answer ahead of next season was what would happen with Russell Westbrook. But with the player picking up his $47.1 million player option, it looks like he’s not going anywhere.
With that matter cleared, now the Lakers can move on to the stage where they start rebuilding their roster. While they could be a team to watch in free agency, Rob Pelinka would also have trade targets in mind.
Rumor: Lakers see Chicago Bulls guard as trade target
According toDan Woike of the LA Times, the Lakers could try and make a move for Coby White. With Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso,and probably Zach LaVine ahead of him, the Chicago Bullscould consider to ship White.
“The Lakers could also look to acquire players via trade, with rival executives believing Chicago’s Coby White could be a target. Moving Talen Horton-Tucker, a player whose ball-dominant skills are viewed by rival scouts as being redundant with the Lakers’ stars, could be a way to upgrade to suit the Lakers’ needs,” Woike wrote.
Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn were often mentioned as two players the Lakers would try and trade this offseason. While it could make sense for Chicago to negotiate White, who enters the final year of his rookie contract, it remains to be seen whether it would do so for either of these players.