NBA Rumors: Lakers to Swap Jordan Clarkson and Other Players To Bulls’ Jimmy Butler

Sep 19, 2016 10:17 AM EDT

Before the 2016-2017 NBA season kicks off, it seems the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers could enter into a trade deal involving Jimmy Butler and Jordan Clarkson. Aside from Clarkson, the Lakers could also include Julius Randle and a future draft pick in the trade.

Adding Butler to the Lakers' roster will certainly make the Los Angeles franchise a stronger team this season since he will be playing with the likes of D'Angelo Russell and Luol Deng. He could also serve as a mentor to second overall pick Brandon Ingram.

In addition, Butler is a well-known scorer and ball handler who has been credited as the reason why the Bulls had no problems letting go of Derrick Rose.

"You can believe trading for Butler would bring a ton of excitement to the Los Angeles faithful," Gil Alcaraz of Hoops Habit wrote. "He's proven to be an elite scorer for the Bulls, allowing the team to pawn Derrick Rose off on the New York Knicks this offseason."

But, in order to get him, the Lakers will have to be willing to pay a very hefty price. For a trade involving Butler, the Los Angeles team will have to give up two active players and a future draft pick. These two players will most likely be Jordan and Randle.

Over the past few months, the idea of releasing Jordan through a trade has become easier for the Lakers thanks to the massive improvement displayed by Russell. As for Randle, the Lakers strongly believe that Ingram will be more than enough to serve as his replacement on the lineup.

Jordan and Randle will also be good additions to the Bulls' lineup since they fall in line with the team's original plan. During the start of the offseason, it was reported that the Bulls were hoping to fill its roster with younger players.

That plan seemed to change after the team acquired veteran star Dwayne Wade from the Miami Heat. But, with Jordan and Randle onboard, the Chicago organization will be able to proceed with operating a group of younger and more athletic players.