Report: Lakers have called rival teams to assess the trade value of Dwight Howard

According to a recent report, the Los Angeles Lakers have called rival teams to get a read on the trade value of several players.

It sounds like Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan and Kent Bazemore have all been brought up in conversations by the Lakers.

“The Lakers have little trade flexibility, but that hasn’t stopped Los Angeles from exploring various potential deals,” wrote Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. “Rob Pelinka’s front office has only Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn as non-minimum players with tangible trade value, and that combination won’t be nearly enough to land [Jerami] Grant or [Myles] Turner. But the Lakers have called rival teams to assess the trade value of DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard and Kent Bazemore, sources said.”

Howard is getting 14.7 minutes of action per contest this season. He’s averaging 5.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 61.9 percent from the field. The big man has surprisingly had some success from beyond the arc, as he has been able to go 6-for-8 on 3-pointers.

Howard won an NBA title with the Lakers in the 2019-20 campaign, but it sounds like L.A. is open to the idea of trading him away before any potential title run happens this time around.

As for Jordan, he’s averaging 13.0 minutes per game this season, but his playing time has decreased recently. The 33-year-old is averaging 4.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest.

Bazemore, meanwhile, has also seen a decrease in playing time lately. He’s averaging 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds per game so far in the 2021-22 campaign.

Time will tell if these players find themselves wearing new uniforms in the near future.