Knecht or Hardy floated as Lakers trade bait for Bulls' Jalen Smith

ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel suggested the Lakers could dangle Dalton Knecht or Jaden Hardy, maybe with a second-round pick, to pry Jalen Smith away from Chicago, with Smith in the last year of a three-year, $27M deal and set to give Los Angeles a stretch big behind Walker Kessler.

Heavy reporter Jake Weinbach floated a fuller version of the deal sending both Knecht and Hardy plus two second-round picks to the Bulls for Smith. Siegel said Chicago would have no problem absorbing either contract given Smith's expiring money, and that Smith could slide in as a backup center for Los Angeles.

The Lakers reportedly tried moving Knecht for Buddy Hield first, but that deal fell through before the Hield trade to Chicago went elsewhere. Both Knecht and Hardy are already expected to be waived by the Lakers if no trade materializes.