Lakers rotation: Starters: VanVleet Reaves DeRozan James Davis Bench: Caruso Walker O'Neale Hachimura Vanderbilt 3rd String: Brown Jr Gabriel Metu Rookie draft pick (hopefully a combo guard/wing like Kobe Bufkin or Dariq Whitehead) Pippin Jr Reasons for moves:
Lakers: Keep young depth while adding star power in VanVleet and DeRozen. Also adding O'Neale and Caruso not only adds guys who can knock down the three ball but guys who can really make a huge impact defensively. Trading back in the draft still allows the Lakers to grab a promising prospect do develop into a larger role as time goes on.
Raptors: Raps swap similar guards in hopes to shake the team up. Russell can play very well off the ball which works well for the Raptors as Barnes and Siakam both often run the one. VanVleet may chose to walk and sign elsewhere so it makes sense to sign and trade him to at least get comparable value. Russell also has a very high upside and may thrive in a different environment.
Bulls: Bulls move on from DeRozen's large contract before it runs up next offseason. Moving Caruso may hurt initially but I see the Bulls going into a full rebuild, and adding good young pieces alongside multiple second round picks is not bad value all things considered. Bamba and Christie are high upside players who have not really gotten enough of a chance to fully flesh out their abilities and on a rebuilding Bulls team, that may be the perfect opportunity to see what they can do. Beasley could also prove to be a very positive addition as he will have well deserved minutes on the Bulls, this could help him prove to the league his true value as a high volume high percentage three point shooter, which could make him a valuable trade asset by midseason when contenders are scrambling to add role players and three point shooting for the playoffs.
Nets: Not much to say here, Nets send O'Neale (who doesn't fit the timeline of the team anymore) plus pick 22 for the Lakers pick 17. This draft class is loaded and I can see a real possibility that a high upside, raw talent kind of guy falls to 17 in the draft like GG Jackson or Keyonte George or Nick Smith Jr. With the Nets needing to find talent anywhere they can, moving up in the draft does not seem unrealistic at all.