Lakers Trade Rumors: Lil Wayne and Skip Bayless Discuss Rich Paul’s Statement About LeBron James, Believe Anthony Reaves Won’t Be Traded

Hip-hop legend and Lakers fan Lil Wayne has been a regular feature on FS1’s Undisputed for quite a while. Lil Wayne often dishes out his tribute to the NBA community through his rap lyrics or opinions on talk shows. In a discussion with analyst Skip Bayless, Weezy talked about the Lakers winning the game against the Boston Celtics without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which is a wonderful achievement.

Amidst this winning atmosphere, there was growing uncertainty regarding LeBron James being traded by the Lakers before the deadline. However, James’ agent, Rich Paul, dismissed such rumours and reiterated the 4x champion’s wish to remain with the organization. Talking about Bron’s hourglass team, which made many believe that it was for his trade, Weezy jokingly claimed that he might have used the wrong emoji and he was tweeting a ‘wine glass’. He then made his assumption that it might be a message for the team.

Other panel members also shed their opinions that the ‘hourglass’ might have been for the coach or any of his teammates suggesting that their time at the Lakers is over. Amidst such trade discussions, the panel stumbled upon the question of Austin Reaves remaining with the team.

 

“Austin Reaves be ballin…he’s cold!”@LilTunechi pushes back on the idea of the Lakers trading Reaves for Dejounte Murray pic.twitter.com/zxAMLb8L03

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) February 2, 2024

When Bayless asked Lil Wayne if he would trade Reaves for Dejounte Murray before the trade deadline, the rap legend promptly replied he would rather keep Reaves on the roster. In fact, Weezy is confident about Reaves’ talents to be the ‘cog in a championship team.’ 

This was the first time in this season that the Lakers played without AD and Bron. The reasons behind their absence are their current injury statuses, as Davis is currently recovering from bilateral Achilles tendinopathy and a left hip spasm, while James was benched for the game after suffering from a left ankle peroneal tendinopathy.

In this win, Lakers star Austin Reaves played a crucial role for the team by dropping a season-high 32 points in a 114-105 road victory. Reaves was all over the floor, scoring 10 of 18 field goals and making 7 of 10 shots from behind the three-point line. On the other hand, De’Angelo Russell also played an important role in the win, adding 16 points, 14 assists, and eight rebounds for the Lakers from 52.8 percent shooting.

The Lakers are currently the 9th seed in the Western Conference, with a 25-25 record in the league. The 2023 Western Conference finalists have won six of their last ten games and are slowly improving their chances to contend further for a playoff spot. Perhaps, with Bron and AD further showing up for the team, the Lakers might as well have a good chance of increasing their playoff contention by at least two or three more seeds in the league.

The Lakers would focus on getting Spencer Dinwiddie for his similarities with D’Angelo Russell’s contract

The Lakers have long engaged in trade talks to exchange D’Angelo Russell for a better, capable candidate to suit the franchise’s postseason aspirations. One of the top candidates emerging for this list is the Brooklyn Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie. ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst suggests Russell’s two-year $36,000,000 extension would rightly be the portal to the trade. 

Last season, Russell waived his rights to veto any trade, making him eligible to be traded. Furthermore, the Lakers have always been hinting about moving D’Angelo Russell, with occasional rumours suggesting Austin Reaves for the same as well. However, given Russell’s extension also matches Spencer Dinwiddie’s contract, the Lakers would rather choose the Nets star over Dejounte Murray.

The Athletic’s Sham Charania also reported on the same, contrary to the report produced by Windhorst. The NBA insider claims that Dejounte Murray remains the top prospect for the team, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith are also in the mix. Charania says that the Lakers still view Murray as an attainable target while keeping backup options in case this trade fails to materialize.