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The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly now open to giving up their prized draft assets to improve their roster ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Wednesday that sources said, “The Lakers have done their due diligence in trade interest around the league, and are open to using their tradeable first-round picks for players who are a fit.”
Los Angeles already completed a trade earlier this season by sending point guard D’Angelo Russell, forward Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for wing Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton. However, Charania pointed out that Finney-Smith’s three-point percentage has dropped from 43.5 percent to 36 percent as he still tries to find his rhythm with his new team, and Milton hasn’t been a consistent part of the rotation over the past two weeks.
If the Lakers make another move, they will be hoping to land a player who can help both immediately and in the long term. Los Angeles has a window of title contention before star forward LeBron James calls it a career, but it also needs to prepare itself for the future under new head coach JJ Redick.
At 23-18, the Lakers rank sixth in the Western Conference and sit just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Clippers (24-18) for first place in the Pacific Division. James and Anthony Davis are still producing at high levels, but the team will need more consistency from the supporting cast if it hopes to contend for a title this year.
The Lakers will be seeking their fourth win in their last five games when they return to action on Thursday against the Boston Celtics (30-13) at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.
First appeared on bleacherreport.com