The 2024 NBA trade deadline has come and gone without the Lakers making so much of a whimper on the market. While many fans are upset about how the day played out, the Lakers are content to keep their roster and apparently feel strongly about their current group of guys.
“Sources: Lakers stand pat at trade deadline because “we like our team,” and deals presented were marginal upgrades for their most valuable assets,” wrote LA insider Brad Turner. “They want to keep 3 picks in hopes to add a significant star this summer. Will be aggressive in buyout market with part of MLE.”
Last year, the Lakers were among the busiest teams of the deadline and they traded Russell Westbrook as one part of a series of deals. In exchange for giving up a former All-Star and valuable draft capital, the Lakers were able to add some solid pieces in Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, and former Utah Jazz forward Jarred Vanderbilt. Those three were instrumental in last season’s turnaround and the Lakers made sure to bring them back last summer. This season, while the results have been far less impressive, the Lakers are still holding some faith in what this group can accomplish and they decided a trade was not in their best interest. As bad as the situation seems, the Lakers were unable to find an alternative that made them objectively better. Now, the focus will shift toward the summer, where the Lakers are hoping to add another star alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. For now, it remains to be seen how the season will end but the next few months will be crucial for them in determining the next era of the franchise.
Can The Lakers Make A Playoff Run This Season?
Now that the Lakers are guaranteed to keep their roster intact, there are no distractions to get in the way. For D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and other role-players, they can rest easy knowing that their spot on the team is safe for the rest of the season and it will be interesting to see how they perform for the next few months. For head coach Darvin Ham, he can also carry on with no anxiety knowing that his job security is assured for the foreseeable future. For the fans, however, many of them expressed disappointment with the lack of urgency for this deadline.
Sitting at 9th in the standings, just two games above .500, the Lakers aren’t close to being a contender and they have a lot of ground to cover before they can hope to keep up with teams like the Nuggets, Thunder, or new-look Los Angeles Clippers. LeBron James, who turned 39 in December, is doing his best to carry the Lakers on his back this season with averages of 24.9 points, 7.6 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per game on 52.1% shooting. Sadly, not even the efforts of King James have been enough to elevate the Lakers this season and no matter how much they like the roster, it’s clear that they’ll need to add more if they want to increase their odds for the title. Hopefully, Rob Pelinka will take action this summer and use the asset she saved this season to make one last run with LeBron James.
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