NBA Trade Deadline 2018: One trade every team should make

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Julius Randle, NBA Trade Deadline /

Los Angeles Lakers

Send: Julius Randle

Receive: Elfrid Payton

The Lakers have been getting good play from Randle lately, but they desperately need to move him before the trade deadline to avoid having his cap hit on their books when free agency starts in the offseason. Sending out Randle and his $12.45 million cap hit for Payton and his $9.99 million cap hit clears up $2.5 million in cap space, and there is a real chance they could get Payton on a team-friendly contract to fill their backup point guard role if they like what he brings them.

Switching Randle for Payton won’t help this year, but it would get them close to having $50 million in cap space — which is what they’ve been wanting all along.

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