LA LAKERS

This season is over halfway over and I am on the side of playing the core and seeing what they can do.

Lou Williams has improved this year and is still one of, if not the, best offensive player on the team. But he is taking valuable touches and minutes away from others. There for looking around the league here are some possible trades I think we could benefit from.

Here are some trades that net players

Lou Williams <--- CAVS ---> Iman Shumpert Lou Williams + Marcelo Huertas <--- CAVS ---> Iman Shumpert + Kay Felder

Main idea here is to get Shumpert. Makes the team better on defense and doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective.

Lou Williams <---Pistons---> Ish Smith

Exact opposite of Lou in that he is pass first, but he has no offense.

Lou Williams <---OKC---> ?

OKC has a trade exception from Ersan Ilyasova that would allow us to trade him for nothing in return. Ask for a draft pick and a player to get off their roster. I have no idea what we would want in return or is possible to get.

Lou Williams <---Blazers---> Ezeli Lou Williams + Mozgov <---Blazers---> Turner + Ezeli

Basically for Lou we eat Ezeli's contract and they get a player that can produce for them off their bench. They're over the cap and he isn't coming back this year. If they want into the players Lou should help with that. Switching Mozgov for Turner is definitely a win for us. This will lead to opening up more playing time for Zu, Black, and Robinson. If development is important it would lead to Zu or Black starting, granted this will come with loses. Turner also improves our defense greatly and won't be a ball stopper like Lou. In addition to the Ezeli will be back next year and would be a nice addition to the team. I doubt Portland goes for the second trade but maybe the first.

Lou Williams <---Kings---> Ben McLemore + WCS Lou Williams <---Kings---> Ben McLemore + Georgios Papagiannis/Skal Labissiere + Draft Pick?

Basically the first trade offers us a filler, young prospect but looks to be a bust, and a nice defensive minded center. The second trade offers two filler players, that all look to be busts, and a draft pick.

Lou Williams <---T-Wolves---> Brandon Rush Lou Williams + Calderon <---T-Wolves---> Ricky Rubio

The first trade gives the Wolves a scorer off the bench. The second gives them Lou still for great offense off the bench and Calderon as the "placeholder" until Kris Dunn can take the reins that they desire.

The following discusses teams in 6-10 seeds and who could need Lou.

Chicago Bulls - Solid guard rotation. Indiana Pacers - Possibility they'd be interested. Milwaukee Bucks - Guard Rotation looks solid with Middleton coming back. Detroit Pistons - Possibility they'd be interested. New York Knicks - Doubtful

Memphis Grizzlies - Doubtful Denver Nuggets - Crowded backcourt already Portland Trail Blazers - Highly Doubtful they'd part with a pick for him New Orleans Pelicans - Doubtful Sacramento Kings - Possibility they'd be interested

I apologize if this post was terrible. I was just looking into what we could get for Lou because there's always so much talk on here about it and thought I'd post what I found. Let me know what you think.