Mo Bamba joined the Los Angeles Lakers back in February this year via the trades before the deadline. At that time, the team was struggling with a terrible 2-10 start. The squad was nowhere near a top-six finish. Clearly, fans were scared about missing out on back-to-back postseasons. But the February trades and the three-team contract with Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz saved the Lakers from a humiliating elimination before the postseason.
Many quality players like D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley joined the Lakers along with Bamba. However, Mo Bamba signed in with the LA side via a four-team deal involving Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets. However, just after playing a few games for his new team, Bamba got injured and got out of the squad. Despite that, the Lakers reached the playoffs and surprised everybody. They even defeated the second-seed Memphis Grizzlies and the defending champions, Golden State Warriors. Although the squad got brutally thrashed by Nuggests and got eliminated. And now, when the offseason trade talks have started, it is reported that the Lakers might trade Mo Bamba.
Who Is A Good Replacement For Mo Bamba?
As per recent reports, the Los Angeles Lakers are thinking about trading Mo Bamba this offseason. On top of that, the governing bodies of the league, the NBA and NBPA, have made some major changes to the league’s trade rules. According to these new rules, teams will have to pay harsh penalties if they breach the luxury tax. Teams like, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors are paying penalties for spending a lot of money on building their teams. In such a scenario, Los Angeles Lakers are lucky to have Mo Bamba, who can become useful in freeing up some spaces on the roster. Hence, it is essential to look at options that they can buy in exchange for Mo Bamba.
Apparently, Robert Covington is a viable option for the Lakers. Apparently, he did not play a big role for the Clippers, and their head coach Ty Lue would be happy to let Covington go away. Moreover, Covington averages mere 16.2 minutes every game and never had any significant contribution in the playoffs. Since the Clippers don’t value Covington as much, the city-rivals can get them for a second-round pick, plus relief of Mo Bamba’s salary cap. It would not have been possible some three years ago. Even though Robert Covington has not played much role for the Clippers, he is a pretty good wing defender. Moreover, he can space the floor and pass the ball well.
Mo Bamba Has Not Been Very Useful For The Lakers
Among all the players who came into the Lakers squad as the February recruits, Mo Bamba could not play the whole season due to injury. Before getting injured, Bamba last played against the defending champions, for two minutes, with the Lakers winning that game. But Bamba suffered a left ankle injury. And later, they declared that he would not play for at least a month due to a sprained ankle.
However, Mo Bamba did return to the lineup against the Phoenix Suns on April 7. He came off the bench in that game but did not contribute much to the season for the Lakers owing to his ankle injury. Moreover, the Lakers could not reach the NBA finals despite playing really well in the playoffs. So now, the LA side is focusing on building the perfect team in the offseason.