Friday March 2, 2012 Hartford, CT. Connecticut Huskies forward Jeremy Lamb 3 looks on in first half of NCAA College League USA Basketball 2012: Pittsburgh vs Connecticut, MAR 3 - ZUMAc04
The Los Angeles Lakers are reported to be among the teams interested in Jeremy Lamb during an offseason in which they’ve already made some significant moves. The Lakers have a star-studded squad, albeit an aged one, after bringing in the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook this summer, also having added pieces in Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk. Trevor Ariza and Dwight Howard have also rejoined the squad – Howard helped L.A to a title in the bubble last year but spent the following season with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers are keen on seeing their stock rise in the Eastern Conference, having failed to make the playoffs last season. The team is said to be considering moves to strengthen their roster and will transact should the opportunity arise.
The Pacers have a pretty good team on paper, with Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner having proven their worth in the frontcourt while T.J. Warren, Malcolm Brogdon, and Caris LeVert are formidable players themselves. There are also some solid veterans on the bench yet not all of them could be considered good enough to help take the Pacers where they want to be.
Lamb is considered to be such a player. The 29-year-old is a great shooter from distance, yet the arrival of LeVert and a lottery draft pick in Chris Duarte has made him surplus to requirements.
According to a report from the Indianapolis Star, the Pacers have been shopping him around and the Lakers are one of the teams showing interest.
“According to league sources, about four teams have expressed interest in dealing for Lamb, including the L.A. Lakers and Charlotte Hornets,” the piece reads.
Lamb shot 40.6 percent from three last season, a career high, having come off an ACL tear. He does seem a good fit as a catch-and-shoot player for the Lakers but there might be an issue with matching salaries. The forward is on a contract that makes him $10.5 million a year and the only player around that range on the Lakers roster happens to be Talen Horton-Tucker, who has re-signed on a three-year deal.
The Lakers are very fond of Horton-Tucker and are unlikely to let him go. They refused to part ways with him in exchange for Kyle Lowry nearing last term’s trade deadline and it would make a lot less sense to trade him for Lamb.
Where NBA odds are concerned, the Lakers are the second favorites to win the championship next season at 13/4 with the bookies. The Brooklyn Nets are the outright favorites at 13/5 as they’re expected to go all the way with a healthy trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden.
A Lakers/Nets finals does seem likely in the West as Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Kawhi Leonard might be a no-show all season and the Phoenix Suns don’t look like getting past the Lakers now.
Last season’s champions are also rumored to be ready to welcome Rajon Rondo back after the role he played in their winning the title in 2020. The veteran point guard signed a two-year deal to the tune of $15 million with the Atlanta Hawks but was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, who in turn traded him to get Eric Bledsoe from the Memphis Grizzlies.
Rondo could become a buyout target for the Lakers, who would do well to get him back following the way he played for them during last year’s finals. The Grizzlies, though, have no reason to keep him around for too long and his contract will probably be hard to move. The whole point of trading Bledsoe was to move his contract and they’ve also since flipped Patrick Beverley, who was also part of the deal that saw Bledsoe join the Clippers.
Rondo is not expected to be with the Grizzlies when next season begins, per the Daily Memphian. They could either buy him out before the year ends or could hold him without playing him until a deal can be made, as they did with Andre Iguodala.
They’d be keener on going the buyout route as Iguodala had more trade value ahead of his move to the Miami Heat, and that deal didn’t even end up being all that great for them.
Should the Grizzlies buy him out, the Lakers could sign him to one of their three open roster spots. The team is looking to sign another point guard and has worked out Darren Collison, Isaiah Thomas, and Mike James. Of course, they’d prefer having Rondo return ahead of any of the aforementioned.
