NBA rumors: Here’s what a Lakers draft day trade for Buddy Hield might look like
By Josh Hill
The Los Angeles Lakers are plotting a trade that would land them Kings sharpshooter Buddy Hield on draft night.
It turns out the Los Angeles Lakers might not have to wait all night to make a splash on draft night.
The Lakers have the No. 22 pick, which means it’ll be quite a while before we hear from them. That’s assuming Los Angeles stays put, which is sounding more and more unlikely in the hours leading up to the NBA Draft.
According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Conner, the Lakers are trying to work out a trade with the Sacramento Kings that would land them Buddy Hield.
Here’s what that trade might look like:
Lakers Get: Buddy Hield
Kings Get: No. 22 pick, Montrezl Harrell, and either Kyle Kuzma or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
NBA Rumors: Will Lakers trade for Buddy Hield on draft night?
Los Angeles is in a bit of a bind this offseason since it’s strapped for cash but needs to add some more meaningful pieces to its roster. Injuries sunk the Lakers last season, but the Suns exposed Los Angeles in its first-round beatdown of LeBron’s team.
There have been classic Lakers rumors tossed out like acquiring Damian Lillard, trading for Bradley Beal or Russell Westbrook, or signing Chris Paul but not even Suni Lee is capable of the sort of gymnastics required to make any of that happen.
Adding Hield gives the Lakers one of the league’s best three-point shooters and one that has yet to reach the peak of his powers. The Lakers ranked near the bottom of the NBA in three-point shooting last season and lacked the type of outside shooters to ran any better than 24th in three-point attempts.
Sacramento is a perpetual way station, and Hield seems to be the latest potentially useful piece of someone else’s lineup to start his career there. The Lakers sending back a package that doesn’t include Talen Horton-Tucker will also go a long way in hyping up fans in Los Angeles over winning draft night without even needing to make a pick.