The Los Angeles Lakers seem to be tirelessly trying to acquire Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving via trade this offseason, but one league executive recently offered a backup plan should the Lakers strike out on an Irving deal.
While speaking with Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, an unnamed Western Conference executive pitched guard Malik Beasley as a possible option for the Lakers.
Beasley was recently traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Utah Jazz as part of a blockbuster deal for Rudy Gobert.
“They need shooting,” the executive said. “If you don’t get Kyrie, you need shooting. If you do get Kyrie, you need shooting. So they’re keeping their options open for that. They’ve asked about Eric Gordon but they don’t have the pieces to get him, not right now, at least, the [Houston] Rockets are playing hardball on him for some reason. But I think Malik Beasley is the guy they should be looking at if they can get him from Utah. They asked about him when he was in Minnesota, now they can try to get him in a situation where Utah does not want him. The Jazz want picks so the Lakers would have to give up one of their picks, but he is in their range.”
Beasley would be a solid pickup for the Lakers, and he could become the team’s starting shooting guard if a trade were to go down. In the 2021-22 campaign, he primarily came off the bench and averaged 12.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
However, he averaged 19.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in the 2020-21 season when he started in all but one of the games he suited up for.
The Lakers surely have Irving at the top of their wish list, but the front office also must have many backup plans if it can’t land Irving.
After all, the team is desperate to overcome the embarrassment that was the 2021-22 campaign. Though the Lakers haven’t done much so far this offseason to improve the roster, that could all change in the blink of an eye.
If this executive is to be believed, Beasley is one name for Lakers fans to keep an eye on.
