The Los Angeles Lakers are going through a tough stretch right now. They've failed to live up to the expectations they set before the start of the NBA season, and the word around the league is that they're exploring options for Russell Westbrook.
The worst part about this Lakers roster is the fact that they don't have too many tradeable assets. Moving Westbrook's mammoth deal is complicated and Anthony Davis is, obviously, off-limits.
Even so, the Lakers are reportedly interested in working on a deal to land Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant. However, Shannon Sharpe believes he's not the kind of player they need right now.
NBA News: Shannon Sharpe Urges The Lakers Not To Trade For Jerami Grant
Sharpe addressed the Lakers' interest in Grant on his show Undisputed. He claimed that he left the Denver Nuggets because he wanted to be a team's first-scoring option, and doubted he'll be ok with taking the backseat to the Lakers star.
“Here’s the thing about Jerami Grant. He left Denver because he didn’t want to be third filler for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray,” Sharpe said. “He left for the same money to go Detroit and be top dog."
"Is he going to be okay being fourth dog when he didn’t want to be third dog?" Sharpe added. "Those are the things the Lakers need to ask themselves. I get it, you get a young guy, 27, in the rotation he could score points, he’s good from the three-point line, he’s an okay defender, not great, but he’s okay. But those are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself. Is he going to be okay? Bron, AD, Russ, Jerami Grant when he didn’t want to be Joke, Murray, Jerami Grant.”
LeBron James Calls Out His Teammates Amid Lakers' Tough Stretch“
Even if it's not Grant, it's clear that the Lakers need to bring in some new players. LeBron James is far from satisfied with the team's poor effort and careless basketball, and that means someone's getting traded soon:
"There’s a difference between careless turnovers and attack turnovers,” LeBron said after the loss to the Grizzlies. “We gotta cut down on our careless turnovers — the ones that’s just unforced. We’re gonna have attack turnovers, which is OK. We have a lot of attackers and we understand that. But, the careless turnovers, where, literally, you just turn the ball over and there’s no pressure or there’s no reason for it, those are the ones that get us in trouble.”
The Lakers could only try and work out on deals involving Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk, and maybe Kendrick Nunn, so the chances of landing a big-name player are pretty slim. But they've got to do something, and they've got to do it now.
