If the Lakers are willing to buy high on the former Michigan State Spartans lottery pick and shooting guard Denzel Valentine, then they could also get off the money of veteran point guard Avery Bradley. This is the key for John Paxson and Gar Forman if they are going to shop Valentine at the trade deadline. Get some team to buy high on him.
Similar to Dunn, Valentine is in the final year of his rookie contract. That flexibility to decide what to do with him come the summer is a nice point of appeal for the Lakers with Valentine. The Lakers could decide to keep him beyond this season if the secondary scoring off the bench in a second or third unit brings enough value to the table.
Valentine is a good outside shooter and can create off the dribble. At his price tag, Valentine is about the best that the Lakers could find. The valuable and modern skill set that Valentine could bring for the Lakers at such a cheap price tag off the bench is the main reason why they have to separate with a future second round draft pick.
The Bulls are fine to take on the final two years of Bradley’s contract. He’s still getting paid less than $5 million per year on average during these two years of his contract. Bradley could also offer the Bulls a veteran guard presence and what is usually a reliable outside shooter. Stacking draft capital and acquiring a veteran guard gives the Bulls about all they could hope from parting ways with Valentine.