When LeBron James came over from Cleveland to the Lakers this offseason, many people expected to James to have recruited a superstar to go along with him. According to Kevin Broom, it looks like the Lakers have been trying to find ways to trade for the Wizards star point guard John Wall.
Source No. 1, a current NBA agent, surprised me by saying the story was true. The source said it’s something Rich Paul — agent to LeBron James and, as of January 2016, John Wall — was orchestrating. But, according to this source, the Wizards were saying no.
I was still dubious, so I checked with Source No. 2, another current NBA agent who’s at least as dialed in as Source No. 1. Source No. 2 said the rumor is true. This source said Ball and Caldwell-Pope were definitely in the deal, but that there was still discussion whether the third player would be Ingram, Josh Hart, or Kyle Kuzma. While the boundaries of the deal were defined, details still had to be finalized, and the whole thing could still fall apart.
So, I went outside the agent network, and asked Source No. 3: someone who works in an unrelated industry but has long-standing connections to Rich Paul and LeBron James. Source No. 3 said Paul was trying to get Wall traded to the Lakers and that the Wizards would do it if Paul could get Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka on board. But, Source No. 3 warned, it wouldn’t be easy, because the Lakers like their youngsters. Source No. 3 added the nugget that Paul was working on trades to put talent around James because of fears that younger free agents “don’t want to play with LeBron anymore.”
Rumors are swirling and the Lakers have two months before the trade deadline to see if they want to keep building with their young players or acquiring a super star like John Wall.
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