Confirmed deal : Controversial Scoring Guard Joins The Lakers In High-Risk, High-Reward Mock Trade

 

The Los Angeles Lakers have won 12 out of their first 20 games in the 2024-25 season, looking like a competitive roster that might be a few steps away from being a realistic championship contender. The ceiling for success with LeBron James and Anthony Davis can be high, as indicated by their surprise 2023 Western Conference Finals run, but the team doesn’t look equipped for that with inconsistencies on both ends of the court.

 

The Lakers have had a lack of on-ball scoring this season, with LeBron tapping into his playmaking skills to create opportunities for his teammates. With D’Angelo Russell having a particularly tough season, the Lakers need an innovative guard creator without giving up too many future assets. An answer to their queries could be present with a frequent trade partner, the

 

The Lakers bring a former champion back onto the roster and take the liability of his long-term expensive contract which the Golden State Warriors felt the need to dump onto the Wizards just one year into the extension they handed him. Russell and Vincent provide long-term salary relief for the Wizards while the Lakers hope to tame the inconsistent Poole into becoming a lead guard scorer for their franchise

 

 

It’s a big bet on Poole willing to embrace the attitude of being a third option at best behind LeBron and Davis, but after being sent away from a championship organization to a perenially rebuilding team, Poole would embrace the challenge of proving his value as a championship player once again. We know he can shine on a winning franchise, and the Lakers would allow him to do that

 

The Wizards shouldn’t be in a rush to trade someone like Poole given the length of his contract and the solid production he’s giving them right now. He’d inarguably be more valuable next season or the year after that on the trade market with fewer guaranteed years, but there’s a small chance that his value plummets to a point that he’s not considered good enough for his salary by any contending team in the NBA.