Julius Randle, Nerlens Noel, and Skal Labissiere continue to be included in NBA trade talks

[caption id="attachment_233972" align="alignnone" width="771"] Julius Randle flies in for a dunk in the Los Angeles Lakers 106-113 loss to the Golden State Warriors(Ty Nowell/Lakers.com)[/caption] We're less than a week away from the NBA trade deadline, and several former Wildcats are being included in trade rumors and conversations. On Wednesday night, news broke that the Charlotte Hornets may be shopping Malik Monk not even a year into his NBA career. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is also reportedly on the trade block for the Hornets, as well. The most recent trade talks, however, are centered around Julius Randle, Skal Labissiere, and Nerlens Noel. With the Los Angeles Lakers looking to clear max cap space for this summer's stacked free agency class, Julius Randle's name has been brought up frequently in discussions. The front office has openly talked about the former Wildcat forward not being in their future plans, and as a result, a mutual breakup will likely come sooner rather than later. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne of ESPN has reported that several NBA teams have offered a first-round draft pick for Randle, and that could be enough for the Lakers to send him packing. “From what I understand they’ve had offers for Randle and Clarkson," said Shelburne. "They’ve had offers where they could potentially get a first round pick back." Last week, it was reported the Sacramento Kings were open to trading Skal Labissiere, and may make that happen to help finish a trade sending George Hill to Cleveland for Channing Frye and Iman Shumpert. The Kings are reportedly looking for draft picks in return for the 21-year old big man. According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the Dallas Mavericks are extremely interested in bringing in both Randle and Labissiere.

The talk of the Kings looking at moving Skal Labissière and Malachi Richardson continues to circulate. Sources close to the situation have been saying for a week or so that the Kings would cash out some of their youth for quality first round picks. It’s unclear if that’s going to surface for the Kings, but they are looking at options. The Dallas Mavericks continue to pop up with regards to Labissière, although Mavericks sources said they value first round picks too greatly to pull the trigger. Those same sources pegged Lakers forward Julius Randle as a preferred target and where the Mavs will likely focus efforts in the coming days. Labissière could become a bigger option if the Lakers continue to not engage on the idea.

Back in December, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Lakers and Mavericks had deep discussions on a potential swap of Julius Randle and Nerlens Noel, but the deal fell through. Dallas could certainly go back to this deal if they are adamant about landing Randle, but would likely have to throw in more to the pot since Noel's trade value has diminished greatly. At least one NBA source believes Noel's trade value is actually at "zero" right now, and the Mavericks may wait until the summer to get some kind of value for him. https://twitter.com/fishsports/status/959550772026408960 Noel has played in just 18 games this season, and recently had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. His timetable for a return is unknown at this point, as the Mavericks are reportedly in no rush to bring him back. Whether it be at the trade deadline or this offseason via free agency, Noel will almost certainly end up in another jersey. Could one or both of Labissiere and Randle end up in Dallas? Will the Lakers, or anyone for that matter, take a chance on Noel? Will Malik Monk or MKG get traded from Charlotte? Be prepared for a wild trade deadline, BBN.