The Los Angeles Lakers tried to trade for guard Dion Waiters, but the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted more than salary relief and center Robert Sacre in return, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. The Cavs moved Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a three-way deal in which the New York Knicks sent Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to Cleveland on Monday.
Let's just imagine Waiters in a Lakers uniform. I love this idea. I love it, I love it, I love it. From an entertainment perspective, that is. Los Angeles is rather dysfunctional, but the team has remained more interesting than, say, the Knicks, because of the presence of Kobe Bryant and Nick Young. Those two could not have any more different personalities, and they both have a bit of a predilection for shooting the ball. Waiters, like those two, enjoys having the ball in his hands, and, like those two, possesses an abundance of confidence. It's a shame Los Angeles is bereft of valuable trade assets; it would have been quite something to see them all on the same team. (From a team-building perspective, it also makes sense to make that kind of offer -- the Lakers are far away from contending, so they might as well take a shot at a talented player regardless of how poorly he fits with the rest of the roster.)
Also: I wonder what Lakers head coach Byron Scott, who coached Waiters as a rookie in Cleveland, had to say about this potential acquisition.
