Lakers Sending Patrick Beverley And A Second-Round Pick To The Magic In Exchange For Mo Bamba

We thought last years trade deadline was hectic and this years has seem to topped that. Teams have been making moves left and right with little time left to strike a deal. One team that hasn’t been shy at the trade deadline are the LA Lakers. Last night they traded for D’Angelo Russell and today they’ve already traded away Thomas Bryant. Now, news has broke that the Lakers are acquiring Orlando’s Mo Bamba in exchange for Patrick Beverley and a second-round pick. 

The Lakers are trying to take advantage of the quality minutes they’re still getting from LeBron James. That’s why LA had already traded for D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, and Rui Hachimura. In the last hour news broke that the Lakers are now acquiring Orlando’s Mo Bamba.

As the Lakers try and keep their title hopes alive, NBA betting sites have the Lakers at (+2500) to win the Finals this season.

Breaking: The Magic are trading for Lakers guard Patrick Beverley, sources tell @wojespn. The Lakers are getting Mo Bamba in return. pic.twitter.com/yUNnMm3gAx

— ESPN (@espn) February 9, 2023

Lakers make yet another move, this time trading for Orlando’s Mo Bamba

Both the Orlando Magic and LA Lakers are 13th in their respective Conferences. However, the to franchises are in very different situations. The Magic are a young team that is at the bottom of the East and would need a lot of other teams to consistently lose and themselves to win if they want to climb the rankings.

LeBron James and the Lakers are in a different situation. Their front-office is trying to do whatever they can to salvage the good years they have left with James. The Lakers are built with more veterans on their roster and have now acquired Mo Bamba from the Magic.

Bamba had slowly been falling out of Orlando’s front court rotation with Bol Bol and Mo Wagner seeing more playing time. Additionally, Jonathan Issac has also returned from injury and he also plays over Bamba. The sixth-overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft is getting a fresh chance with one of the most storied franchises in the NBA.

Sources said the Lakers are sending second-round draft compensation with Patrick Beverley to Orlando for Mo Bamba — a major get for a reworked frontline around Anthony Davis and LeBron James. https://t.co/ZEqa6M4b4R

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 9, 2023

On the other hand, the Magic are receiving a second-round pick as well as acquiring veteran Patrick Beverley in the deal. He played in 45 games for the Lakers this season and started all of them, averaging (6.4) points, (3.1) rebounds, and (2.6) assists per game. Beverley was a nice piece on the Lakers roster but after trading for D’Angelo Russell means they have a more than enough depth for the PG position.

Reports are saying the he’ll likely not play for the Magic and this could be a buyout scenario after the deadline is finished. Just last night Beverley went to Twitter with excitement that he’d be playing with D’Angelo Russell once again. That is not the case anymore.

The gang is Back❤️ https://t.co/LCxJY1GfDI

— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) February 9, 2023