Zach Lavine (Photo : Getty Images)
The NBA trade rumors are shaping up with the Minnesota Timberwolves and LA Lakers concerning veteran Luol Deng.
The rumors are expected now that the Timberwolves are at 5-10, when they had lofty expectations for the season after hiring Tom Thibodeau.
It should be noted that even before the 2016 NBA Draft there were already rumors swirling about the T-Wolves trading for Jimmy Butler, a protégé of Thibodeau and the star of the Chicago Bulls. However, the Bulls wanted Andrew Wiggins as part of the trade and Thibs eventually balked, but it was understood that he only wanted to test his team out.
Now that the test did not have favorable early results, is he about to pull the trigger? This was insinuated by Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report (h/t Basketball Insiders)
"Tom Thibodeau is not exactly a paragon of patience, which is why league sources expect that he is only a few more losses away from dealing one of his young stars for a veteran who can help him win now. His first look will be for a player he already knows and trusts because he's already had that player in his system. Would the Lakers consider advancing their youth movement and dealing former Bull Luol Deng?"
Thibs has too much pride to allow the team to keep losing and he also has the power to make personnel changes. If Deng is his target, will the Lakers agree?
That is not too hard to imagine. The Lakers collected their young core but with the departure of Kobe Bryant, they felt that they needed veterans to lead the team. However, newly hired head coach Luke Walton did a much better job than expected and the young core performed well, as did veterans Nick Young and Lou Williams.
Luol Deng is probably dispensable for the Lakers and if Thibs wants him, the Lakers also have players from Minnesota that they would welcome, namely two UCLA alums: Zach Lavine and Shabazz Muhammad.
There were trade rumors about Muhammad going to the Lakers a year ago, as we have previously reported. Meanwhile, Lavine had multiple workouts for the Lakers (as reported by Lakers Nation) which meant that they were seriously considering him (or they just enjoyed watching his athleticism) in the 2014 NBA Draft. The Lakers eventually chose Julius Randle with the 7th overall pick.
Because of Luol Deng's steep salary (four-years, $72 million) the T-Wolves need a combination of Lavine and Muhammad to match, but it's unlikely they give up both young players, especially Lavine.
The ideal situation for Minnesota is to use this trade to dump Nikola Pekovic and just give up Muhammad, but the Lakers will probably not agree with that (they already have a high-priced big center in Timofey Mozgov). Perhaps a trade could happen if they find a middle-ground between these two scenarios.
