With plenty of injuries in their backcourt and age also being quite the issue, the Los Angeles Lakers might turn to Iman Shumpert, a player the New York Knicks have been trying to get rid of for quite some time.
With injuries to Steve Blake, Steve Nash and Jordan Farmer, the Lakers have a serious problem at guard and specifically their point guard situation. Iman Shumpert has basically refused the attempts of the Knicks to turn him into one during the offseason, but it doesn’t mean that bringing him into the fray for the Lakers, who could use any kind of talent they can get their hands on and especially if it comes with the ability to play some good defense, is out of the question.
Right now Kobe Bryant is the point guard for the Lakers, made of that what you will. It’s not like he doesn’t have the ball in his hands most of the time anyhow. In any case, according to ESPN, the Lakers have contacted the Knicks about Shumpert, who is averaging only 6.6 points while shooting 38% from the field this season, but some of it has to do with how the Knicks have been using him, his overall mood and how badly the Knicks have been playing as well.
There are other trades the two teams might negotiate, aside form the Shumpert deal – The Lakers have shown interest in Tyson Chandler while moving Pau Gasol for him is an option. However, the Knicks won’t think about trading Chandler according to sources unless they can offload J.R. Smith right along with him, someone the Lakers aren’t interested in taking especially because he’ll be making $6 million a season for the next two years.
How does this go? The Lakers will finish their road trip before making things more serious with the Knicks. If Blake and Nash aren’t coming back anytime soon, the Lakers will be a bit more aggressive in pursuing a cheap guard who is also young but won’t hurt their precious cap situation next season. Shumpert, possibly overrated by some because of his New York affiliation, right now seems like the closest one to fit that mold.