Lakers trade rumors: LA wants to sign and trade for Bogdan Bogdanovic

After their genuinely shocking signing of sixth man of the year and former Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell, it would have been fair to assume the Lakers were done splashing in the NBA’s free agency. But according to the latest Lakers business rumors, GM Rob Pelinka is not done trying to set off fireworks.

In the middle of the night, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor confirmed earlier reports that the Lakers were indeed attacking the restriction on Sacramento Kings free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic, and exploring potential sign-and -trades to do it:

In January, I reported that the Lakers had had trade talks with the Kings, which offered Nemanja Bjelica and the Lakers a pick for Kyle Kuzma, and Los Angeles responded by asking for Bogdan Bogdanovic. The pursuit of LA hasn’t stopped. Friday, AthleticSam Amick and Eric Nehm reported that the Lakers were pursuing a signing and trade for Bogdanovic, whose signing and trade deal with the Bucks fell apart. League sources have confirmed the report: The Lakers are indeed suing Bogdanovic, although the Hawks are considered the favorites.

The Kings may not have wanted to trade Bogdanovic to the Lakers before the deadline, but they don’t have much of a choice. The alternative is to lose him to the Hawks (or another team with cap space like the Knicks), to an offer sheet that exceeds what they’d like to spend, according to multiple league sources. Of course the kings could match any offer sheet he receives. But they just recruited a guard at Tyrese Haliburton, gave De’Aaron Fox $ 163 million, and still have a disgruntled Buddy Hield. Maybe, just maybe, the Kings had better take KCP and Kuzma, even if that means helping their interstate rivals improve.

Now, as with all leaks, there may be some motivation behind it. The Lakers have long been used as a scarecrow in the league, and this could being an attempt to send a shot through the Hawks’ bow to get them to really pony up on an offer sheet for Bogdanovic in order to prevent him from trying to reach the Lakers. (It’s also worth noting that there have already been reports that Bogdanovic is expected to sign an offer sheet with the Hawks, but nothing very concrete yet.)

But the Lakers’ interest in Bogdanovic is also clearly very real at this point, and after Pelinka and Co. shocked the world (and, would have, Clippers) by getting Harrell on the mid-tier exception, we really can’t rule them out for any free agent – even restricted like Bogdanovic – until they put pen to paper. This is doubly the case in Bogdanovic’s situation, because at this point we shouldn’t believe he’s really going anywhere until he does.

And as my colleague Christian Rivas noted, there is reason to believe the Lakers could surpass the signing and trade offer the Kings previously accepted with the Bucks due to how much their coach loves Kyle Kuzma. :

It’s no secret that Kuzma had his best years under Luke Walton, who is currently the Kings head coach. It’s no secret that they respect each other either. Kuzma was one of the first players to thank Walton when the Lakers parted ways with him last year.

Additionally, we have an idea of ​​what kind of package the Kings would take for Bogdanovic. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Bucks were planning to send Donte DiVincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova and DJ Wilson to the Kings in exchange for Bogdanovic. Is a pack of Kuzma and JaVale McGee much worse than this? And if so, could they expand it to a retailer and business that includes Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Nemanja Bjelica? It’s possible.

Would Bogdanovic be a definitive upgrade on Caldwell-Pope, given what the Lakers need? He would likely be a defensive downgrade, but he has a reputation for being a better shooter – although he shot less than three (37.2%) than Caldwell-Pope (38.5%) last season – who would follow the model (with Harrell and Dennis Schröder) of the Lakers looking to improve their offense on paper this offseason.

It may not be just a matter of choosing between Caldwell-Pope and Bogdanovic, given how negotiations with the former are going now:

The Lakers need to make sure they build up the depth of their guard, and if Caldwell-Pope wants a payday and Bogdanovic just wants to be a Laker, that may not be a real choice, and the Lakers may have to- just be find the guy who wants it. be here.

Maybe Caldwell-Pope returns, and maybe he doesn’t, but until something is agreed upon, the Lakers need to explore all of their options. The good news is that by sniffing Bogdanovic, it looks like they are doing just that. Such due diligence and the development of alternate plans is all anyone who hopes the team can retool for a rehearsal can ask for.

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