Jose Calderon (Photo : Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers may not be considering any landscape-altering deal this season, but the team is expected to trade away a veteran before the deadline.
The Lakers have a collection of young talents, whom they could use as trade chips for any potential blockbuster deals. The likes of Brandon Ingram, D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle would make good pieces in acquiring a proven veteran who could ultimately turn things around in Tinsel town.
Any rumors of trading their young talents have probably been buried after Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak admitted the team is in no rush to make deals, especially involving Los Angeles' young guns.
"We're going to have to do our job which is to look at opportunities that may come up in the next month or two. And if there are none, which is fine with me, because I like the young guys on the team, then during the offseason we'll have to look at opportunities," Kupchak told Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.
It is safe to say any of the Lakers' young guys is untouchable at this point, but LA could still be sellers in the trade market. According to Josh Martin of Bleacher Report, the Lakers are expected to move veteran point guard Jose Calderon before the February 23 deadline.
"The Lakers roster, though, is such that they can shed a veteran or two while maintaining at least the appearance of earnest competition. So if front office executives Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss would rather hang on to Nick Young and Lou Williams for the sake of possible success, they can still slough off the expiring contract of Jose Calderon," Martin wrote.
Calderon has yet to play major minutes under Luke Walton, only averaging 12.3 minutes per game, but the Spanish playmaker has been a reliable backup for the Lakers. The 35-year-old point guard is only scoring 3.8 points a game this season, but is in excellent shooting form (45.7 percent shooting from the field).
While Calderon won't probably get the Lakers much in return, trading an expiring contract for a draft pick or a young player is a viable option for Los Angeles. A team like the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are in deep need of a backup point guard and do not have much to offer in a trade, could be an ideal destination for Calderon.
Cavs general manager David Griffin himself admitted Cleveland's need of a backup playmaker to take some pressure off Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. Calderon, an 11-year veteran, would be a nice addition to the defending champs at a low cost.
However, the Cavs could opt to trade for more talented veteran guards, with players like Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo having been linked to Cleveland. Nevertheless, should the Cavs find it difficult to pry out any of these PGs, Calderon could be a suitable alternative.
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