The Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers could surprisingly become trading partners before February.
The Clippers don’t look like a contender, which means they should be in the market for expiring contracts and draft capital.
The Lakers have both of those things and are looking to add. Clippers veteran wing Norman Powell would be a rock-solid acquisition for a Lakers team looking to seriously contend. Lakers GM Rob Pelinka could dangle D’Angelo Russell’s expiring deal over to the Clippers and ask them which of the Lakers’ future draft picks interest them.
Powell is in the penultimate year of his $90 million contract.
Saturday night served as a reminder of the kind of immense value Powell can provide. In a loss to the 6-0 Oklahoma City Thunder, Powell led the Clippers in scoring with 24 points on 3-for-6 shooting from downtown. He also provided his usual hard-nosed perimeter defense and a full bag of winning intangibles.
Powell is averaging 25.2 points per game on 42.3 percent from three to start the season for the Clippers (six games).
The 31-year-old Powell would be an excellent fit next to Austin Reaves in the Lakers backcourt.
The Lakers have no reason to hold onto D’Angelo Russell, and they’d benefit from Reaves taking more reps at point guard than he already is. Reaves is effectively the Lakers’ starting point guard, whereas Russell is mostly a trade chip at this point.
Powell would add grit and athleticism to the Lakers, and his 39.5 percent career three-point figure is higher than most would assume.
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