It's never been a secret about the Los Angeles Lakers' fascination of adding a young, dynamic playmaker. In fact, general manager Mitch Kupchack and the Lakers top-brass have been scouring the market for quite some time to land their "point guard of the future."
The moment the Lakers have been waiting for might finally arrive following report on the Philadelphia 76ers' interest in trading former Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams.
ESPN NBA Insider Chad Ford indicated the Sixers are indeed making Carer-Williams available for trade discussion, as they look to add more first-round draft picks to their stash of assets.
"I've heard a lot of rumblings from GMs that Carter-Williams is available. There are some in ownership and in the front office, though not all, that don't see him as a long-term piece of the puzzle. There was a lot of chatter that direction before the draft and in the past few weeks I know several teams have had exploratory discussions with the Sixers."
"I think the challenge right now is that the Sixers will want a lot in return and MCW's play, to date this season, hasn't warranted multiple first round picks for him. That makes him tough to deal."
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reported the Lakers made an attempt to scoop up both Carter-Williams and Thad Young by sending Steve Nash's expiring contract worth $9.7M and the no.7 overall pick - which was used for Julius Randle (out with a fractured leg).
While Nash's contract remains enticing trade bait, the Lakers have no intention in trading Randle as proven by their decision not to package the rookie in a potential deal with the Boston Celtics for Rajon Rondo.
However, the Lakers could still come up with a competitive package consists of Jeremy Lin, Ed Davis and a first-round pick (the one acquired by the Lakers from the Rockets in their trade for Lin last summer).
The Sixers expressed their desire in trading for Lin last offseason, when the Rockets were trying to unload the guard's $8M expiring contract. The Asian-American playmaker has been struggling to find his niche in a very conservative Princeton-based offensive system employed by head coach Byron Scott, but his performance might improve under head coach Brett Brown, who uses a fast-paced, free-flowing offense.
As for the Lakers, Carter-Williams might not change their fate overnight, but his acquisition is a big step forward for an organization desperately trying to put the right pieces around Kobe Bryant as he makes his final push towards his sixth NBA title next season.
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