Los Angeles Lakers Discussed Julius Randle for Nerlens Noel Trade With the Dallas Mavericks
Looks like the Los Angeles Lakers have had talks with the Dallas Mavericks about a potential deal involving forward Julius Randle and Mavericks center Nerlens Noel.
During an appearance on ESPN's "Full Court Press," Adrian Wojnarowski revealed that the two teams discussed the possibility of swapping Randle for Noel, but talks came to a screeching halt when Noel underwent surgery for a torn ligament in his left thumb.
"One conversation the Lakers did have, some initial talks, about Julius Randle, was with Dallas. He's from Dallas, and Dallas is a team now that's trying to accumulate some young assets. Nerlens Noel was a player who they sort of loosely had some conversations about. The Noel injury, though, essentially ended those. Noel would actually have to agree to a trade to L.A.," Wojnarowski said, via Lakers Nation.
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This would have been an interesting trade for the Lakers because they need a rim protector right now with Brook Lopez on the shelf with an ankle injury. The move would also allow them to free up salary cap space for the summer of 2018.
"If they were to have Noel on the roster this year and lose Randle's contract for next year, it would save them $5.64 million," Thomas Lott said in his column for Sporting News.
With Kyle Kuzma and Larry Nance Jr. eating up most of the minutes at the power forward position this season, Randle had to play behind Lopez at center in most of the games.
Randle's minutes are down this season, but he still managed to average 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He's also shooting very well from the field (54.9 percent), but he has continued to struggle on the free-throw line (65.9 percent).
With Lopez sidelined, Randle should see more playing time in the next couple of weeks, but the Lakers are still expected to dangle him as trade bait before the trade deadline in February.
