The Lakers is indeed in a tight spot right now. But the way they are handling things, it somehow suggest that they are not vying for any title this season. The Lakers seemed to be deliberately losing each game, thus suggesting that the team may perhaps be "embracing tanking."
Having the idea in mind, this season would be used by the Lakers to strengthen their team, in a way rebuilding its roster in preparation for the next season. A post-Kolbe season run is to be expected next year from the Lakers, thus widespread trade rumors are being reported in connection to the said team. In most recent report, the Lakers would be trading Nick Young and Ryan Kelly in exchange for Miles Plumlee and O. J. Mayo of Milwaukee Bucks. In such a way, cap-space would be cleared for the next year's free agency.
Yibada reported that the LA Lakers is need for a rebuild of their roster as Kobe's retirement comes near. A major step would be to clear up as much cap space as they could for free agency. Movienewsguide also suggested that, "the rumors pointed out that the LA Lakers would give Nick Young and Ryan Kelly in exchange for O. J. Mayo and Miles Plumlee of the Bucks. It seems that Mayo and Plumlee does not have appreciable trade value due to their low performance and limited playing time. However, their expiring contracts attract the Lakers who are trying to clear their cap-space."
This trade scenario of Young leaving the Lakers could somehow be true, for Young is one of the tradable assets of the team. However, this does not necessarily mean that he would be traded to the Bucks together with Kelly in exchange for the said players. The Lakers could actually do two things from their end, perform a trade with Young on it, or continue developing the potentials of their current roster. Even though the rumor is quite farfetched, ESPN NBA Trade Machine approves of it as cited by Yibada.
