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Every year, no matter how good the team is, there are always tons of NBA trade rumors about the Los Angeles Lakers. Even with the team possessing the best record in the Western Conference, this year is no different, as evidenced by the sheer amount of chatter surrounding Kyle Kuzma, and who the team might be targeting at the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
But how do we cut through the noise, and keep track of patterns in the rumors? Well, for me personally, I like to keep a list of what has been reported by who so that it’s easier to critically think about the various leaks that signal what teams’ actual intentions are.
Instead of keeping said list privately, I’ll be updating it here so that anyone interested in making their own reads on things has a document to refer back to in order to monitor trends in the news.
So, without further ado, here is our (updating) Lakers trade rumor tracker, with links to our articles for analysis when possible:
Every rumor so far
Feb. 6 (DEADLINE DAY!) Update
- The Clippers won the Marcus Morris sweepstakes after the Lakers refused to include Kyle Kuzma in their trade package, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
- The Lakers decided not to deal Kyle Kuzma.
Feb. 5 Update
- According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports and Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the Lakers are getting a ton of calls about Alex Caruso.
- The Lakers and Clippers are reportedly in an “arms race” for Marcus Morris. The Knicks apparently want Kyle Kuzma, but seem to think they would need Danny Green to make a deal work, per multiple reports.
- Multiple reporters also are saying the Lakers are interested in Markieff Morris, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dennis Schroder in the lead-up to the deadline.
- Haynes also reported that the Lakers tried to get a deal done for Andre Iguodala, but he’s now heading to the Miami Heat.
Feb. 4 Update
- The Knicks have reportedly spoken with the Lakers about Kuzma, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. They are also reportedly making Marcus Morris available.
- According to various NBA Insiders, the Clippers are concerned about how much size the Lakers have, and are looking for bigs on the trade market as a result.
Feb. 3 Update
- Adrian Wojnarowski reports that free agent Darren Collison is still making his decision between the Lakers and Clippers, and offered a bit more context on when he might make that choice by.
- Zach Lowe of ESPN reported the latest on where the Lakers are at with Kuzma, and what they may be looking for in return for him.
- According to David Aldridge of The Athletic, Andre Iguodala is not planning to play for the Grizzlies — or any other team not on his list — this year.
Jan. 30 Update
- Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reported more details on the Lakers’ and Kings’ talks about Kuzma, and revealed that the Kings initially offered Nemanja Bjelica and a pick for Kuzma. The Lakers counter-offered, asking for Bogdanovic, an offer the Kings rejected.
Jan. 25 Update
- A Grizzlies executive told Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report that the team is not buying out Andre Iguodala, saying “we will trade him, period.”
Jan. 23 Update
- Ben Cohen of the Wall Street Journal reported that the Lakers are among five teams to have expressed an interest in Minnesota Timberwolves forward Robert Covington so far. That doesn’t mean a deal will get done by any means, but he has been an oft-theorized target for this team.
- Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports offered the first confirmation that the Lakers have checked in on another often-speculated trade possibility for the team: Detroit Pistons point guard Derrick Rose. Given that the bidding for Rose will likely be significant because of how well he’s played this year, my personal guess is that talks on him won’t truly heat up (or get consummated) until a bit closer to the deadline.
- Kuzma would likely have to be involved in either such deal — or really almost any realistic one the Lakers could make — but he claims the noise isn’t getting to him, reiterating recently that while the rumors “consumed” him last year, this year they don’t bother him “at all.” So take that for what you will.
Jan. 15 update
- Brian Windhorst of ESPN says that multiple teams are hearing multiple different things from the Lakers about Kuzma’s availability.
Jan. 10 update
- Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Lakers have talked to multiple teams about Kuzma.
- According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Kings aren’t in a rush to trade Bogdan Bogdanovic because they aren’t worried about him leaving in restricted free agency this summer. So that might be one name to take off the list for the Lakers, if that isn’t just the Kings posturing through the media.
Every rumor prior to Jan. 9
- According to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times, the Lakers were the ones who initiated the Kuzma talks with the Kings, and are listening to trade offers for anyone but LeBron and AD
- The Lakers are one of several teams to express interest in Davis Bertans, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington
- Someone associated with the Lakers told Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report that Darren Collison would be an “unbelievable” signing for the team. Collison unexpectedly retired this summer, but is reportedly mulling a comeback with the Lakers or Clippers. Here are some factors to keep an eye on as the chase for him heats up
- Marc Stein of the New York Times reported that the Kings attempted to ‘engage’ Lakers in trade talks centered on Kyle Kuzma, but there were differing reports from local reporters on how willing Sacramento would be to include Bogdan Bogdanovic in a deal
- Sam Amick of The Athletic was the first to report that the Lakers were officially willing to listen to trade offers for Kyle Kuzma
- After the first reports, Kyle Kuzma said he doesn’t worry about trade rumors because he’s used to them
- Shams Charania of The Athletic was the first to reveal that other teams are were eyeing Kuzma, but that the Lakers were saying they want to keep him
- There was a report from Sean Deveney of Heavy.com that L.A. is/was interested in D.J. Augustin on some level
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.