Several teams have interest in veteran guard Lou Williams, who is being shopped by the Lakers ahead of the Feb. 23 deadline, according to multiple reports.
In a video posted on The Vertical’s page last evening, insider Adrian Wojnarowski passed along one of the interested teams: The Washington Wizards.
Wojnarowski made his comments at the 3:50 mark in the video below:
The prospects of Boston & Chicago reengaging on a Jimmy Butler deal this week. Trade deadline preview w/ @WojVerticalNBA and @ChrisMannixYS. pic.twitter.com/SeEyG2Lj94
— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) February 19, 2017
The Cleveland Cavaliers are another team who likes Williams, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com:
The Cavs like Lou Williams (Lakers), who is averaging 18.4 points and 3.1 assists. He is under contract for the next two seasons at $7 million annually. So far, talks have not progressed because they can’t seem to find a combination of players/salary cap room to make it work.
The Lakers are expected to be active in trade discussions as the 3:00 pm Thursday deadline nears. Rival executives recently told HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy that the team is shopping Williams and it seems likely they’ll be able to strike a deal.
Williams, 30, is averaging a career-high 18.6 points this season, shooting 44% from the field and 39% from beyond — his best shooting marks in several years.
Teams in need of perimeter shooting or a scoring punch will look to get in contact with general manager Mitch Kupchak before Thursday. Kupchak is known for being active around trade deadlines, and this year doesn’t figure to be any different.
“We are active, yes,” Kupchak said last week. “We’re active every year. Quite frankly, compared to the last three or four years, we have a lot of talent on this roster that I think a lot of people have interest in — varying levels of interest. I would think there’s more meaningful discussions this year than there have been the last two or three years.”
