The acquisition of rookie forward Tarik Black has put the Los Angeles Lakers in position to be a seller on the trading front, according to Basketball Insiders writer Yannis Koutroupis.
Koutroupis gave a deeper insight behind the Lakers' decision to acquire Black, who was waived by the Houston Rockets to make room for Josh Smith last week.
Koutroupis opined that the main motive of Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchack to get young talented big man in Black was to put them in position to trade some of their frontline players in exchange for assets in the form of draft picks or another up-and-coming player.
According to the Basketball Insiders analysts, Ed Davis and Jordan Hill are the likely trade candidates between now and February 19 trade deadline. Both big men have been putting up strong numbers this season with David becoming a force on the defensive end while Hill showing his overall improvement as a scorer.
Another reason why these Lakers big men are attractive trade targets is their reasonable contracts. Davis is currently playing on a two-year deal with a player option for the 2015-16 NBA season that pays him $1.1M. Hill, meanwhile, signed a two-year, $18 million deal last summer, with a team option for next season.
Koutroupis think the Lakers are more inclined in keeping the 23-year old Black, an undrafted player out of Kansas but blossomed into a solid defensive-oriented big man, than committing long-term deals with Davis and Hill.
After all, there's no shortage of market for front line players especially in a season where several talented big men have already succumbed to injuries. The Cleveland Cavaliers are possible trade partner for the Lakers since they desperately need a big to put some length and size to their frontline rotation (especially after Anderson Verajao suffered a season-ending Achilles tear injury).
"The Lakers had to waive Xavier Henry, who was out for the year with a ruptured Achilles, to create a spot for Black - but already have a crowded center position with Jordan Hill, Ed Davis and Robert Sacre," according to Koutroupis.
"There is a market for big men right now, though, primarily in the Cleveland Cavaliers. They just lost Anderson Varejao for the year and have long been rumored to be interested in an additional center even prior to losing their starter for the year.
"Hill and Davis could provide major boosts for them in light of Varejao's absence, but they have also been linked to Sacre in previous reports as well."
Davis and Hill are enticing options for the Cavs, who are having a lot of hard time pulling off a deal to acquire Timofey Mozgov from Denver Nuggets and Kosta Koufus from the Memphis Grizzlies.
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