Lakers acquire Mo Bamba from Magic for Patrick Beverley, second-round pick compensation
The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired center Mo Bamba from the Orlando Magic for Patrick Beverley and second-round pick compensation, Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported Thursday afternoon.
The current second-round compensation is unknown. Bamba’s current cap hit is $10.3 million with a non-guaranteed 10.3 million deal for next season; Beverley’s $13 million salary is an expiring, so he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, per Spotrac.
According to NBA Salary Cap expert Yossi Gozlan, the Lakers save nearly $9 million in luxury tax dollars for the swap, while also generating a miniscule $2.7 million trade exception along with the pair of $1.8 million trade exceptions they’ve created already this deadline.
Los Angeles, the smallest team in basketball before the Rui Hachimura trade mere weeks ago, continue to bolster their frontcourt help behind Anthony Davis by the additions of Jarred Vanderbilt (who can play small-ball five) and now Bamba, who’s been out of the Magic rotation of late and is currently serving a suspension for the Austin Rivers fight.
Bamba also helps the Lakers’ long-distance shooting. He’s averaging 7.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and one block across 40 games, shooting 49.5 percent, including a career-best 39.8 percent from 3-point range (on 2.7 attempts). According to Cleaning The Glass, he ranks in the 89th percentile among all bigs in 3-point shooting efficiency (83rd percentile from above-the-break). In 45 games with the Lakers, Beverley’s posted averages of 6.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists on 40.2/34.8/78.0 shooting splits.
According to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, Beverley isn’t expected to remain with the Magic and will likely be a buyout candidate. He is also expected to receive plenty of interest from playoff teams, such as possibly the Miami Heat, among others. If he were to officially be bought out, he would join Russell Westbrook, John Wall and Reggie Jackson as veteran point guard buyout options.
This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.
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