Los Angeles Lakers appear trying to pull something off their sleeves before the trade deadline expired. According to league sources, the Lakers are setting their sight on Philadelphia 76ers point guard Michael Carter-Williams who has been hot commodity on the trading front.
Desperate to infuse a high-caliber talent at the point guard position, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchack is expected to burn the hotlines over the coming days in pursuit of their point guard of the future.
The Philadelphia 76ers have been collecting young talents the past couple of years, drafting Carter-Williams, Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Dario Saric and KJ McDaniels. By winning 10 games halfway into the season, the Sixers are again in position to land another high-pick in this coming draft.
League sources indicated the Sixers are still trying to figure what their future roster would look like. While big men like Embiid, Noel and Saric are considered untouchable for now, the Sixers are reportedly curious of what kind of assets they could have by trading Carter-Williams.
Even last year's draft, there were reports hovering that the Sixers were looking to deal the reigning Rookie of the Year in hope of landing multiple first-round picks. They found no luck, but insiders are expecting them to do the same over the next two weeks as the trade deadline approaches.
ESPN NBA insider Chris Ford added more fuel to the rumors during last month's chat session on ESPN sports nation, stating the Sixers are still not sold on Carter-Williams as their point guard moving forward.
"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."
Despite averaging 15.0 points, 7.4 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game, the former Syracuse standout is shooting a putrid 38 percent from the field and a far more horrible 26 percent from beyond the three-point line. However, this glaring weakness in his game isn't stopping teams from expressing interest in the 23-year old point guard.
There are at least six ball clubs linked to Carter-Williams should the Sixers decide to part ways, the Lakers are one of them. For NBA experts, the Lakers may not have enough trade assets to outbid competitors for the service of the young playmaker.
Obviously they are hell-bent in keeping the protected first-round pick in this year's draft, but the Lakers do posses another first-round pick - the one they acquired from the Houston in the Jeremy Lin trade. Packaging the pick with budding forward Jordan Hill (the only real assets the Lakers have outside Kobe Bryant) or the expiring contract of Lin - who the Lakers pursued last season - and Steve Nash - could do the job.
But the buck stops with general manager Sam Hinkie and the Sixers front-office. Will they trade Carter-Williams by trade deadline? This is one of many answers waiting to be answered at 3 p.m of February 19.
