Lakers Trade Rumors: Cavaliers talking with Lakers as they look to shake up roster

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a franchise crisis, with leaks sprouting in what appears to be a ship quickly sinking in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland has lost five of their last six games, had an “air out” meeting that reportedly did not go well, and there’s static around Kevin Love after his fellow teammates questioned whether he was actually sick while missing time.

To say there’s chaos in Cleveland, especially with LeBron James becoming a free agent in just a few months, would be an understatement.

George Hill has emerged as a trade target for the Cavaliers, with Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye filling in as the pieces Cleveland is bargaining with, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Landing Hill would be a move to help address both the failed Derrick Rose experiment and underwhelming Isaiah Thomas trade.

The shuffle has continued for Cleveland since Kyrie Irving’s departure, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst was on The Jump to discuss what he’s hearing from LeBron Land. Not only did he say the Cavaliers are on the “1 yard line” with the Hill trade, but the Lakers are one of the teams they’ve reached out to as they look at their options.

“Definitely change happening, one trade for sure maybe multiple. They’re way down the road on the deal with Sacramento for George Hill, that’s like on the 1 yard line.

“At this point I just think they have to have change. They’re talking to other teams, I was told today that they’ve been talking to the Lakers, which is stunning because why would they do a deal with the Lakers who potentially could recruit LeBron, that just shows you they are going all over the league trying to figure this out,” Windhorst said.

The trade deadline is just weeks away and teams have begun laying out their cards around the league. The Lakers have been making small roster adjustments in the mean time, playing things close to the vest.

It’s interesting to consider what that conversation may have gone like, especially with the Lakers’ not-so-secret hopes to land James as a free agent. LeBron being on the move seems incredibly, stupendously, unlikely, so there’s no reason to order that custom James jersey (or to bring out the one from a few summers ago).

NBA trade rumors are heating up as January comes to a close. Let’s get ready to fire up the trade machine, if you haven’t already, folks.