Who will the Lakers trade before the deadline?

The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2021-22 NBA season with high hopes and aspirations of lifting a title when it was all said and done.

Fast forward 45 games: The Lakers have a 22-23 record and currently sit as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

Injuries and setbacks due to health and safety protocols have definitely been a factor, but the team’s inconsistent energy and effort are easily the bigger concern.

The recent three-game stretch for Los Angeles highlights it: a 37-point loss to the Denver Nuggets, a gritty win against the top-seeded Utah Jazz and a fourth-quarter collapse against the lowly Indiana Pacers.

Even with a healthy Anthony Davis in the mix, this Lakers squad, as it stands, is not a championship-caliber team. But will the franchise make any trades? Let’s make the case for trading players where moving on makes sense:

The case for trading: Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook was this team’s prized acquisition this summer, one that was made to help the team jump the hurdle in the postseason and give help to LeBron James and Davis. But, so far, it has not played out that way.

After a solid November where he averaged 21.8 points, 8.5 assists and 8.0 rebounds on a 44.7/32.9/72.7 shooting split, Westbrook’s production has nosedived in January. Through eight games this month, he’s averaging 13.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists with a 32/25/76.5 shooting split.

That’s not what you pay $44 million to a player for, and now Westbrook’s play has seen him benched in crunch time. The primary factor preventing a trade is a team needs to want him in some facet, whether that’s Westbrook or potential draft compensation. The likelihood is low, but if there’s a trade to be made, the Lakers need to seriously consider it.

The case for trading: Talen Horton-Tucker

The Lakers want to win now but also extended 21-year-old Talen Horton-Tucker for three years to see if he could reach his potential. That will create issues. Horton-Tucker can have strong games like 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and seven assists against the Indiana Pacers but then have nine points on nine shots against the Sacramento Kings.

Consistency has been a team-wide problem, and that will carry over to Horton-Tucker, too. Better rotations would certainly help since he’s still not a promising long-range shooter, but with his contract just north of $10 million annually, he’s the only path to a viable trade if the Lakers hope to acquire a proven win-now player.

The Lakers reportedly have already started shopping him.

The case for trading: DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan never made sense from the get-go. The Lakers tried to replicate the Dwight Howard-JaVale McGee pairing that proved successful during the 2019-20 championship run. However, Jordan is nowhere near the player he was with the L.A. Clippers. The Brooklyn Nets made that clear when Jordan was pulled from the playoff rotation.

But the Lakers gave him the chance to be a starter, and now he’s no longer in the rotation. He doesn’t give effort on either end of the floor, especially on defense with switching and rotating. Drop coverage is his go-to move, which exacerbates his limitations.

If the Lakers can find a taker, then freeing his roster spot will be huge when the buyout market gets hot.

The case for trading: Kent Bazemore

Kent Bazemore is arguably the most disappointing signing of the summer. He was signed to be a key 3-and-D player and became a starter when Trevor Ariza went down with an ankle injury. But Bazemore didn’t last long in that role. He often made perplexing plays and began whiffing on layups and badly bricked his 3-pointers.

Like Jordan, he’s making the veteran minimum, so a team doesn’t have to absorb a significant salary. Also like Jordan, if there’s a taker for Bazemore, the Lakers need to pull the trigger. If a team can swoop in for Rajon Rondo, maybe Los Angeles will get fortunate with Bazemore and Jordan.

The case for trading: More than one of these players

Bazemore and Jordan are the two players the Lakers should hopefully move on from. They don’t contribute on a nightly basis and are holding valuable roster spots. Westbrook is the toughest to move on from because of his salary; he also has a $47 million player option next season, and there’s no way he declines that because no team is offering him that much anymore.

Horton-Tucker is the Lakers’ youngest piece and the one with the most potential, but if L.A. wants to upgrade with someone of more quality, then parting with Horton-Tucker is the consequence.

It’s safe to say the Lakers need to make multiple moves if they hope to be in the title conversation in a few months, but everything boils to which teams want these players.