Lakers and Thunder should make trade if prediction comes true on 3-and-D champion

1 hour ago 2

The Oklahoma City Thunder have already shown they're more than willing to move on from certain players to get ahead of potential cap issues. Unfortunately for Oklahoma City, that's required it to move on from some very talented players for relatively low prices.

It remains uncertain whether the Thunder are looking to do so again this offseason after doing so multiple times already, but if they're willing to move on from Lu Dort, as one prediction recently suggested, it would make a lot of sense for the Lakers to be interested in him.

“While Dort’s rugged point-of-attack defense is a luxury any contender would crave, his highly volatile 38.5% field-goal efficiency makes his current financial slot the most logical luxury to sacrifice. Rather than waiting for the tax bill to limit their flexibility, look for Oklahoma City to aggressively orchestrate a sign-and-trade or decline his team option to package his elite defensive traits for asset consolidation,” Joe Cervenka wrote.

The idea of Dort is better than what Dort actually is.

He's a hard-nosed defender who always competes, but he doesn't have much of an offensive game, and there are moments when he's a bit frustrating to watch. Lakers fans know that, and so do most contending teams in the Western Conference, but there's a reason why he's been a big part of what Oklahoma City has been looking to do in recent years.

I think even if he's not the perfect player for the Lakers, he'd be a wise target.