NBA Trade Rumors: Major Problem Persists for Warriors and Clippers While Lakers Receive Green Light Ahead of Deadline

The teams in the NBA have to act quickly as the trade deadline is just two weeks away. Most of the teams have been susceptible to trade rumors and roster renovation due to their poor performance this season, namely the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both teams have been at the top of the pinnacle in the league and are suffering a downfall this season. Due to that, they are looking for some strong additions to their squad.

Even the Clippers were actively recruiting players in their squad, even before the trade deadline. They had one of the biggest trades of the season when they acquired the 10x All-Star James Harden.

However, according to ESPN the Clippers as well as the Warriors cannot get any big stars to their team because their team payroll has crossed the $172 million mark. Due to that, the first apron has kicked in and they can only sign a player whose preexisting salary is less than $12.4 million. But, as per reports, the Lakers are currently $4.9 million below the first apron due to which they do not have any restrictions.

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Being a team that is just above the luxury tax, the Lakers must carefully consider their trade possibilities while keeping the nearing deadline in mind. The situation’s difficulty includes trade bonuses for important players such as Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves which complicates the decision for the front office. However as the Lakers have tried 13 different lineups and still not getting the desired results, they will be considering some roster adjustments. But do they have sufficient trade assets?

A new collective bargaining agreement limits the Lakers

Even though the Lakers possess assets like D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura, as they do not have any draft selections their prospective transactions get hampered. The 17x NBA champions even have young stars like Max Christie and Jalen Hood-Schifino are on controlled contracts and are valuable assets. However, trading them might hamper the depth of their squad as well as their long-term strategy.

So, rumors were suggesting that the City of Angels wanted to acquire the Bulls star Zach LaVine which is even possible for them. However, due to the current collective bargaining agreement, there are some budgetary and roster constraints that are not letting the Lakers make significant changes to their squad. Due to this, the upcoming trade deadline of February 8th is very crucial for the Lakers as they need to determine their future additions to the squad.

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