NBA Trade Rumors: Lakers trying to move Roy Hibbert to playoff contender

According to a report, the Los Angeles Lakers are trying to move center Roy Hibbert to a playoff team.

NBA trade season is about to heat up with the deadline a month away and teams that are out of the playoff race are going to look to move pieces for future assets. One team that is not in the playoff race and is trying to add assets to a young core is the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers have some young, talented players in D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle. They could add another good young player in the draft during the offseason as well, provided it doesn’t land outside the top-five.

While the Lakers certainly have a bright future in terms of young talent, they should be looking to add more and they will try to add to their assets for future trades or drafts at the trade deadline. That means trading role players away to contending teams that could use the depth.

One of those players that could be dealt is center Roy Hibbert. According to Steve Kyler, the Lakers are trying to move Hibbert to a playoff contender.

Hibbert isn’t having a spectacular season by any means, but he could be a good addition for any team in need of depth at the center position. While Hibbert may have not been a piece that teams were to eager to acquire before, he does have one benefit to trading for him.

He is an expiring contract and will provide a team plenty of cap relief at the end of the season when he becomes a free agent. If a team is willing to give up an asset for Hibbert’s expiring, then the Lakers could be primed to make the deal and move him to a playoff team.

The Lakers have leverage in this scenario with the ability to just keep the cap relief themselves and use it in the offseason. It will be interesting to see if a deal matches up between the Lakers and another team.