NBA Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers Trade For Michael Beasley To Be Executed In July

By Joshua Casey

During the 2011-2012 NBA trade deadline the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves had a deal in place for power forward Michael Beasley, but watched it fall apart just hours before the deadline. The loss of Beasley left a hole in the Lakers bench, one that was fixed by the Lakers dealing long-time Laker, and fan favorite, point guard Derek Fisher in exchange for Jordan Hill. At first the deal was met with much anger byLakers fans who were enraged at seeing Fisher go. This coming from the same people who were calling for Fisher’s job throughout the season.

But many people felt that Fisher could have been a solid back-up for the Lakers, especially since his leadership would be key in the Lakers playoff run. None of that mattered though as fisher was traded to the Houston Rockets, was bought out, an ultimately signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hill was not seen as a huge upgrade from Fisher, and definitely not an option as a back-up big man, and was barely given a chance to play, at first.

The night before the Lakers would face the Oklahoma City Thunder for the third and final time in the lock-out shortened season, and just two nights after the Lakers received a 121-97 beat-down at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, Lakers head coach Mike Brown called up Jordan Hill in the wee hours of the night and simply told him to be ready to be play against the Thunder. Hill, who had previously asked to simply be given a chance, came out ready and helped the Lakers immensely, playing 35 minutes, and contributing 14 points, 15 rebounds, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. Hill came up huge in both overtimes to help lead the Lakers to a 114-106 victory.

From that point on Hill was a double-double machine for the Lakers and he was given an increased amount of playing time due to his hard work. In the playoffs Hill played very well in a back-up role of Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, but even after all of that it still seems that the Lakers would be willing to part ways with him. News has come out that the Timberwolves and Lakers are set to execute a trade for Michael Beasley sometime in July.

Although it is still unclear who the Lakers would be giving up, it is widely believed to be Hill as that is who theTimberwolves are very interested in. If the Lakers do indeed trade Hill for Beasley, the deal seems to be a fair one for both sides. The Lakers would get a big man with good rebounding skills, and a wide array of offensive weapons, while the Timberwolves would get an excellent rebounder, and a guy who can clean up the very few misses of power forward Kevin Love.

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