Los Angeles Lakers Need To Acquire Chris Paul Following Phoenix Suns’ Trade For Bradley Beal

Following the Phoenix Suns’ trade acquisition of All-Star guard Bradley Beal, the biggest losers in the Western Conference are none other than the Los Angeles Lakers.

For one, it’s clear that the Pacific Division will run through the Suns next season, not the Lakers, who came up within a round of reaching the NBA Finals. Secondly, the other dagger involves Chris Paul.

Paul was included in the blockbuster trade for Beal, which means the Lakers are now hoping the Wizards choose to waive — instead of trade — the veteran point guard. If Paul chooses not to play for a rebuilding Washington Wizards squad, the Wizards will instead try to trade the veteran point guard to a championship contender.

Via ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:

“Part of the reason for holding up full completion on the Wizards-Suns trade will be to allow Washington to field offers from third teams that would give Chris Paul a chance to land with a contender, sources tell ESPN,” writes Wojnarowski.

However, there’s still the chance the Wizards simply waive Paul, as NBA insider Marc Stein notes.

“Chris Paul made almost $10 million in extra guaranteed salary via this trade and, if waived by Washington, can choose his next team … albeit with Phoenix ineligible to re-sign him,” writes Stein. “There will be lots of interest, with the Lakers at the forefront, if CP3 reaches free agency.”

Whether Paul is traded or becomes a free agent, the Lakers will still have to compete with several other likely suitors such as the Los Angeles Clippers — Paul’s former team — and the Miami Heat, who came up short in their bid for Beal.

Considering the chances of landing Kyrie Irving are slim, that means the Lakers will still be seeking a point guard if they choose not to re-sign D’Angelo Russell, who struggled drastically in the team’s Western Conference Finals series playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Russell failed to make a positive impact in the series, averaging just 6.3 points in 23.5 minutes per game on 32.3% from the field and 13.3% from beyond the arc. Those statistics were all down from his regular season numbers with the Lakers, where he averaged 17.4 points in 30.9 minutes per game on 48.4% from the field and 41.4% from beyond the arc.

Considering the Lakers lost three of their four games by six points or less, having Paul in that series instead of Russell could have been the difference.

The Lakers won’t have that much salary cap space to work with following the expected re-signings of Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. Assuming the Lakers don’t get into a bidding war that could cost them Reaves in free agency, Los Angeles could sign him to a deal that pays the young shooting guard $11.4 million during his first season.

Meanwhile, Hachimura’s projected deal is hard to project, but anywhere from $10-t0-$20 million is the expectation.

Assuming the Lakers move off Malik Beasley and Mohamed Bamba’s non-guaranteed deals, they might have roughly $10 million in available cap space to work with. In other words, they won’t have big money to sign a marquee free agent and they’ll have to sign Paul to either a veteran’s minimum deal or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth a little over $12 million.

Because the Lakers are cap-strapped and lack the financial resources to sign a free agent that could make a difference such as Fred VanVleet or Khris Middleton, acquiring Paul becomes that much more imperative for a franchise looking to win one more title before LeBron James calls it a career.

There’s no guarantee that even with Paul that the James-Anthony Davis-Reaves core will be enough to lead the Lakers to a championship. Especially when one considers that the Suns were able to retain key big man DeAndre Ayton instead of trading him to the Wizards. That’s not to mention the obvious new “Big Three” core that the Suns have with Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

But signing Paul will give the Lakers a chance to advance as deep as they did this past season.

Considering the Lakers are lacking options to improve their roster, they should be all-in on acquiring the 12-time All-Star point guard.