The Lakers should jump at the chance to bring in Marcus Smart to replace D-Lo. D-Lo has been having a down season and his trade value has looked the bleakest it’s ever been. He’s been moved out of the starting lineup and it’s not clear that even a hot shooting stretch could catapult him over Reeves in their rotation. In this scenario, it’s not clear to me whether Marcus Smart starts. Regardless, the Lakers need veteran guys who know how to win to maximize LeBron’s playoff window and provide the young guys with playoff experience.

Memphis is actually one of the few teams that I think can benefit from acquiring Russell. Having a solidified star at pg means D-Lo can morph into a high level scorer and facilitator for their second unit. His defensive inadequacies can easily be hidden and he’d add a new dimension to this team as a pull up shooter out of the PnR. If Russell still cares enough about his basketball career and winning, it might be a nice change of pace to move out of his LA lifestyle for the “grit and grind.”

In addition, the Grizzles receive another expiring contract in Cam Reddish to either work out or waive. And they also receive a second round pick.

Although Smart isn’t having an incredible scoring season, he’s proved his worth on a basketball court is damn near unquantifiable. Any GM would understand that Smart is the most valuable asset in this deal and the Grizzles GM would treat him as such in negotiations. It doesn’t seem out the scope of possibility to request that second round pick and I think the Lakers would oblige.