NBA trade rumors: Lakers prepared to deal Jordan Clarkson for cap space if needed

The Lakers are willing to move one of their young pieces for cap space

The Lakers are in a weird spot ever since Magic Johnson and Jeanie Buss took over the day-to-day operations in Los Angeles. The two made it clear they want to return to the old days where the Lakers dominated the free agency period and constantly found new ways to acquire stars.

The previous regime had failed to continue that tradition and opted for an approach that built through youth and the draft. As a result, Los Angeles currently has a lot of young players but no surefire stars. This leaves the new front office with a choice: continue to build around these players, or risk moving them for the chance at signing a star. And if they do trade someone, who will it be?

Los Angeles already traded former No. 2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell along with Timofey Mozgov to the Nets for Brook Lopez and his expiring contract, which put the Lakers in great position next summer to sign Paul George. According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the Lakers are apparently also willing to move Jordan Clarkson for even more cap space, and they're pretty confident they can do it.

One person within the organization who isn't permitted to speak publicly on the subject told Bleacher Report the team is confident it can move Clarkson if needed to open space.  

Dealing Clarkson obviously wouldn't be the same as trading away a high potential draft pick such as Brandon Ingram or Lonzo Ball, but he's still a young player on the roster that the organization has developed. However, he may be close to reaching his ceiling, making him a movable piece for Los Angeles.

If the Lakers do trade Clarkson, they'll be giving up one of their better shot creators. But if in return they sign a star player like Paul George or LeBron James, who they most certainly would love to acquire, then that will be well worth the trade-off. Of course, if they swing and miss on free agency like they've done in the past and Clarkson performs well elsewhere then that would be a huge gaffe for a front office that's spoken very confidently in their ability to turn the Lakers around.