Are the Sixers and Lakers Making a Trade?

In the latest NBA rumors, it’s being reported that the Los Angeles Lakers have a secret trade target in mind. It could be Nerlens Noel.

The height of basketball rumor season may be behind us, but that doesn’t mean it’s all quiet from here on out. In fact, we may see things heat up a little bit as the beginning of training camp comes around within the next few weeks.

For the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s imperative that they figure out their frontcourt situation within the next few seasons. Preferably, it would be best if they figured something out this season, since Nerlens Noel is a restricted free agent in this upcoming season.

One of the possible teams the Sixers may strike a deal with this offseason is the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, the Lakers do have a target in mind to whip up a trade for, but at this point, that target is unknown.

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"The Lakers do have an unnamed trade target in mind, but are also preserving space for another opportunistic Calderon-like deal."

Next summer, the Lakers are actually set up almost as well as the Sixers are, with over $30 million to spend in free agency. With the market they’re in, and the history that the Lakers have, they will likely swing a star with that money, possibly Russell Westbrook who seems to be ready to test the market.

Silver Screen and Roll noted that this report is interesting because the Lakers have $13 million in cap space to cover what their low-contract players don’t offer, but if the Sixers were to potentially offer Nerlens Noel, salaries might actually match up.

SSR also noted this:

"So, before you jump on the trade machine to find an impact player in the $13 million range, look instead at guys in the final year of their deal on teams that would benefit from dumping that salary."

Noel is technically in the final year of his deal, as the Lakers could simply not offer him the qualifying offer next summer if they don’t want him. That being said, the Sixers don’t exactly fit this bill since they have no reason to get rid of Noel’s $4.4 million contract, since they are several million dollars under the salary floor themselves.

If the Lakers want to get someone that can offer them solid rim protection for a season, while leaving cap space open for following years, Noel could be an option.

The tough part would be figuring out what the Lakers would offer in return. It really seems like Sixers fans wouldn’t take anything less than Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell, or Jordan Clarkson for Noel, but there is no way the Lakers will do that type of a deal. Although the fans don’t run the team by any means, Bryan Colangelo has shown that he’s not going to be handing out his big men for nothing, and he seems to be overvaluing them a bit given the current market for big men.

Instead, the Sixers would be likely to receive a Lou Williams-like player in return, or perhaps even a player of lesser caliber.

These two teams as trade partners would have made much more sense leading up to the NBA Draft or Draft Lottery, since the Sixers had the chance to obtain the Lakers’ pick if it fell outside of the top three. It ended up being second overall, so the Sixers didn’t retain it by default, but some speculated the Sixers may try to trade to get No. 1 and No. 2 at the time.

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Right now, this trade seems unlikely, but Noel does make some sense form a winning standpoint for the Lakers. He is probably not their main target, but he could be on their radar, and for the right price, Philly will move any of their big men right now.