NBA BS Meter: Latest on Lakers' Trade Targets, Zach LaVine Market, More

We've officially entered the second part of the 2023-24 NBA season, with some big news and rumors following us into the new year.

There's some notable fallout from the OG Anunoby trade to the New York Knicks, a former All-Star guard who could be a fit with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers' updated interest in Zach LaVine and more.

Happy 2024, everyone. It's time to make sense of the latest NBA news and rumors.

The 2024 NBA trade deadline is just over five weeks away on Feb. 8, meaning we're going to see a major uptick in activity very soon.

While all eyes will be on the Toronto Raptors following the OG Anunoby trade, there could be a shortage of teams actually willing to part with talent, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"Lots of buyers, few sellers," he posted on Threads when describing how this year's trade deadline will go.

"Part of that is the Play-In tournament, which has kept more teams trying to reach the postseason instead of dropping down into the lottery. Also, this isn't considered a strong draft class at the very top, so there's even less motivation to trade a postseason berth vs a few extra ping-pong balls in the lottery. There will be trades. There will be sellers. But the asking price is going to be high from the really bad teams to move off assets --- so that slows down the marketplace a little."

Indeed, the play-in tournament has led to far more competitiveness and less tanking, which was the whole idea for its creation.

As of Jan 1., only six of the 30 NBA teams were more than three games out of the play-in tournament. Of these six, the Memphis Grizzlies shouldn't be viewed as sellers, and every report out of Detroit has the Pistons looking to actually add talent instead of trade it away.

This leaves the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards as the only franchises that may be willing to offer vets for picks, something the Raptors didn't even want to do for Anunoby.

We could see a real bidding war for some of the better veterans on the market, especially from playoff- or championship-hopeful teams that clearly need a boost.

BS Meter: None. There are only a few truly bad NBA teams this season, setting up a lot of buyers and less sellers.

With Gabe Vincent missing the majority of the season with a knee injury and D'Angelo Russell sent to the bench, the Los Angeles Lakers have a serious issue at point guard.

Moving the now 39-year-old LeBron James to floor general shouldn't be a permanent option, but it may be the best the Lakers have unless they can swing a trade.

"One more player to keep an eye on I'm told, a potential target for the Lakers, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray," The Athletic's Shams Charania reported on Run it Back.

The Hawks are off to an ugly 13-19 start and should be considering all options around Trae Young, even if it means trading Murray, a player they gave the San Antonio Spurs three first-round picks for.

Murray is averaging 20.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.5 steals per game and shooting 38.3 percent from three this season. He's one of the better point-of-attack defenders in the NBA and would help improve a Lakers offense that's slumped to just 22nd overall.

Finding the right return for Atlanta is tricky, however.

Simply swapping Russell for Murray isn't enough, and the Lakers won't want to give up Austin Reaves. There's just one more future first-round pick for Los Angeles to trade as well.

Murray would certainly fit as a trade target for the Lakers, although it's tough to find the right combination of picks and players here unless a third team was involved.

BS Meter: No BS that the Lakers should want Murray, a little BS that the two sides can work a deal out given L.A.'s limited trade assets.

Part of the Toronto Raptors' motivation to trade OG Anunoby was undoubtedly financial, as the 26-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, assuming he turns down his player option for next season.

As Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer writes, Anunoby was looking for a raise that would have doubled his current salary.

"Anunoby held meetings with several agencies this past offseason when he decided to leave Klutch Sports, telling potential representation he was interested in a larger offensive role that would be commensurate with a salary figure in the ballpark of $40 million in average annual value, league sources told Yahoo Sports," Fischer wrote.

While $40 million per season seems high for Anunoby, as good of a player as he is, the Knicks could reportedly get him back at a lower number.

As Fischer wrote, "However, Anunoby did leave those potential agents with the impression he would be willing to accept a smaller figure if he were to have landed in New York, sources said."

Let's not be naive and pretend contract discussions haven't already taken place.

After all, Anunoby is represented by Sam Rose of CAA, the talent agency previously run by Leon Rose, the father of Sam and now the president of the Knicks.

Whatever Anunoby's next contract may be, the Knicks have to be comfortable with it or else they wouldn't have made the trade.

Expect the defensive star to re-sign in New York on a deal that's lower than $40 million a year.

BS Meter: BS that Anunoby was going to get $40 million a year from any team, no BS that he could sign a team-friendly deal to stay in New York.

The Zach LaVine trade chatter has died down since the star guard has been sidelined since Nov. 28 with a foot injury, although he's recently begun practicing and will hopefully return to game action soon.

This means more trade talk will soon commence, with teams like the Philadelphia 76ers continuing to be mentioned as a potential destination.

Despite the idea of forming a Big Three of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and LaVine, NBA Insider Marc Stein says Philly shouldn't be viewed as a home for the two-time All-Star.

"League sources say that Philadelphia," Stein wrote, "if it indeed makes an in-season trade with the assets received in the Halloween deal that sent James Harden to the LA Clippers, is still prioritizing a two-way player … as well as a move that does not limit its future optionality."

While LaVine can erupt for a 40- or even 50-point game on any given night, he's never been a strong defender, which doesn't match up with the Sixers' desire for a two-way player. His remaining three-year, $138 million contract after this season would destroy Philly's plan for cap space this summer as well. According to Spotrac's Keith Smith, the 76ers have $40.9 million in projected space in 2024, the second-highest amount in the NBA.

Would a team even sign LaVine to a three-year deal worth $46 million per season right now? Would they willingly give up assets in addition to doing so?

Both scenarios seem extremely unlikely.

While LaVine could fit into coach Nick Nurse's offense, his contract would ruin the cap space the Sixers have carefully built. A trade doesn't appear likely.

BS Meter: No BS here. Philly should keep its cap space open instead of trading for LaVine.

All eyes are on Pascal Siakam now that the Toronto Raptors have shown the willingness to break up their core.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, "Toronto is expected to continue to explore trades involving forward Pascal Siakam, but there are no deals with traction now, sources said."

The 29-year-old could be the prize of the deadline, a two-time All-Star and All-NBA forward who's averaging 21.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and shooting 51.2 percent overall. Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer reports that the Raptors nearly traded Siakam to the Atlanta Hawks last summer and that "the Kings and Pacers have been routinely mentioned by NBA figures as potential suitors for Siakam."

In June 2023, Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes reported that Siakam preferred to stay with the Raptors and that he would not re-sign with a team that trades for him. Following a 12-20 start to the season and the trade of OG Anunoby, however, it's unclear if Siakam's stance has changed.

Toronto should first try to see how Siakam, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Scottie Barnes and company mesh. As good as Siakam and Anunoby are individually, the Raptors were barely even beating teams with both stars on the floor (plus-1.6 net rating in 1,502 total possessions). Putting a new group of players around Siakam could help push Toronto back into the playoff picture.

The Raptors should take calls on Siakam but not make a decision until they give this new group a chance to play together for a few weeks.

BS Meter: No BS that Siakam trades will be explored, although Toronto should see how the new pieces fit in next to him first.