Lakers Reportedly ‘Expressed Interest’ in Trading for Thunder Guard

The Los Angeles Lakers have to make a move ahead of the trade deadline and they may actually be trading for an Oklahoma City Thunder guard.

Thunder point guard George Hill has attracted the attention of the Lakers. Jake Fischer from Bleacher Report has more information on this.

“There hadn’t been much chatter regarding the Oklahoma City Thunder’s veteran point guard, but as the trade deadline inches ever closer, Hill’s name has emerged more and more in conversations among team executives. Both Los Angeles teams and Philadelphia have expressed interest, according to league sources. The Thunder’s asking price appears clear. ‘They’re willing to [both] take back and trade salary for draft compensation,’ one Western Conference official said.”

Lakers may be trading for a Thunder guard

The Lakers have limited draft capital to use at the moment. They may offer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as a replacement for Hill. However, the Thunder is trying to get more for their guard.

The front office has a better chance of landing Hill if he gets a buyout than getting stars like Andre Drummond and LaMarcus Aldridge. Fischer explained that the Lakers don’t have enough draft picks to trade for the Thunder guard. Hill may still get a buyout, but Oklahoma plays a different game with players like him. We all know what happened with Trevor Ariza.

“Neither Los Angeles club has first-round capital to play with, but there’s hope among several teams that OKC will come to a buyout agreement with Hill,” Fischer added. “Thunder general manager Sam Presti, however, has little history of awarding buyouts to veterans. ‘That is not OKC’s M.O.,’ one assistant general manager said. Maybe that will drive one of these contenders to splurge for Hill before the 3 p.m. ET buzzer.”

The Lakers may trade some of their veterans, including KCP, Montrezl Harrell, and Dennis Schroder. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is well aware of the trade rumors around the league.

“My expectation is we’re going to win games with this group,” he explained. “I believe in the group that we have. … Most trade-deadline situations, there’s a lot of talks that result in nothing, and that’s my expectation as a coach.”