Report: Lakers Nearly Traded for a Former Top-10 Pick

The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked to many players in the past few days, and Cam Reddish is definitely on this list. Chris Kirschner and Fred Katz said the Lakers nearly traded their pick for Reddish. However, the Atlanta Hawks had different plans.

“The Hawks have made Reddish widely available since before this past draft cycle. The price then was a first-round pick, and it never changed,” Kirschner and Katz said January 13. “Atlanta was looking for something closer to the slot where it drafted him, No. 10 overall, but nothing materialized. The front office had conversations with the Pacers, Lakers, Cavaliers and Pistons over the past several months, sources say, but the Hawks were always waiting for that first-round pick for Reddish.

“Recently, The Athletic learned that the Lakers had offered two second-rounders for Reddish. Still, the Hawks believed a team would eventually offer the first-round pick they sought.”

The Lakers nearly traded their pick for a reason

Reddish was a good option for the Lakers. The front office wanted to get a few more young players because they only have Talen Horton-Tucker. Reddish is averaging 11.9 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 37.9% from long range.

Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN reported that the Lakers didn’t take a step back and tried to discuss other trades, too.

“And listen, there were a number of teams who like Cam Reddish,” Wojnarowski said on the January 13 edition of NBA Today. “The Lakers were still trying to get back involved in a deal here. The Pacers had talked seriously, some others, you know, there are some teams who Cam Reddish doesn’t fit for, but everybody likes first-round picks and that’s what they got from New York here.”

The Lakers traded three players to get Russell Westbrook, but this trade didn’t work really well for the team. He is one of the most competitive players in the NBA, but struggles to shoot and lead the team to a win. New players need more time to fit in. Fans are a bit frustrated right now. Will Westbrook be able to lead the team to a win?