Lakers Reportedly Angling All-Star Guard In Move For Jazz 3-And-D Winger

The Los Angeles Lakers are exhausting all options that are available to them this offseason as they look to build a worthy title contender around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook has been at the center of such potential packages and he could potentially be sent to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic.

Tony Jones of The Athletic recently reported that the rebuilding Jazz will need to offload two more players this offseason as they currently have 17 players on the roster and the market is there for the Croatian winger.

"League sources indicate a market for Bogdanovic at the very least, of which there is significant interest for the 6-foot-8 shooting forward," Jones wrote.

However, as was reported in recent weeks, the Jazz are not rushing themselves into making a deal just yet since the ball is completely in their court.

"The Jazz, at this point, don't appear to be particularly close to a trade that could land them even more assets and consolidate the roster, although there are ongoing talks with the Los Angeles Lakers," Jones added.

The Jazz and Lakers have been in the spotlight for much of this part of the offseason as the latter is pining to get some young pieces that could elevate their status at the cost of dealing Westbrook.

Utah has no problem letting go of their established veterans to championship hopefuls, although the asking price is relatively steep.

Westbrook was linked heavily to the Jazz and the Indiana Pacers, but the belief is that they will need to include their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks to get a deal done.

Jones divulged earlier in the week that conversations between the Lakers and Jazz have hit a wall after both sides made offers and counter-offers that were simply far from one another – not to mention Jazz president Danny Ainge making a beeline for the Lakers' first-rounder.

Ainge decided to blow it all up in Salt Lake City this season after the franchise just seemingly could not get over the hump during the playoffs.

Other than Bogdanovic, notable veterans that the Lakers and other teams could go for include Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Lauri Markkanen.

The Lakers need all the help they can get at the wing and point guard positions which could see a multi-player deal happen.

Whatever the case may be, it can be argued that the Lakers are the ones most in need and not the Jazz, so the onus is on them to bring out their best negotiation tactics in hopes of convincing Ainge to lower his asking price.