Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Over the weekend, the Phoenix Suns acquired All-Star guard Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards for... well, not a lot.

It's a trade that, at least for now (the deal isn't official) has no direct involvement with the Lakers. That is unlikely to change. But that doesn't mean it won't impact the team in significant ways. For starters, the Suns now have a core of Beal, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and (oh yeah) Kevin Durant. That is a group that will be able to score tons and tons of points. On the other, they don't have any depth, meaningful assets or flexibility, and at least two of these guys (Beal, Durant) have disturbing injury histories.

So did this deal vault the Suns to the top of the Western Conference? There is plenty of skepticism among those who follow the league.

Then there's Chris Paul, who is heading to Washington, at least for now, as part of the deal. That means his contract will be guaranteed for this season at about $30 million. There was talk before he'd be released by the Suns, which could make him available to teams like the Lakers for a veteran's minimum or taxpayer midlevel exception. Now, if that happens, it'll have to wait until the Wizards (or another team) buy Paul out. Washington is trying to trade him, with the Clippers out front of the rumor mill, and it seems very, very unlikely the Lakers would be players at that price.

Which obviously impacts D'Angelo Russell and Dennis Schröder.

And finally, if the Wizards are truly tearing it down to the foundation and want as little long term money on their balance sheet as possible, it might mean Kyle Kuzma, who was considered a lock to re-sign with Washington this offseason, might be available. The Lakers can put together a reasonable sign-and-trade package for Kuz.

Would he be a better option than Rui Hachimura?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Bradley Beal is headed to Phoenix.

SEGMENT 2: What does all of this mean for the prospect of Chris Paul and the Lakers?

SEGMENT 3: What about Kyle Kuzma?

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