The Los Angeles Lakers surprised everybody when they decided to not make any trades before the deadline struck last Thursday, sticking with their current roster, reportedly trying to add a new piece via the buyout market.
A lot was said about this decision, including reports suggesting LeBron James and Anthony Davis never agreed with the front office’s decision of not pursuing any trade, which raised a lot of eyebrows around the league.
That’s part of the past now, the Lakers have interesting candidates to add if they get bought out, but they have to wait until an official decision is made. Meanwhile, the Lakers continue with their season, fighting hard to get over their bad situation.
On Saturday night, they clashed with the Golden State Warriors, losing a hard-fought game against the Dubs, with LeBron and Anthony Davis failing to make an impact. Bron took responsibility for the loss, admitting he didn’t make the right plays down the stretch.
Even though they lost their third straight game, James saw something positive on his team, explaining that they were connected as soon as the game started. Following a tradeless deadline, the player feels his teammates are more focused on winning now.
“Just felt like we was connected. I just felt like we was connected from the very first jumpball. Obviously, the result is a lot different than we would have liked. I felt like that’s as connected as we’ve been in quite a while. It was good to have a good feeling out there.”
Talking about the reason why they came together, LeBron said that they know they won’t make any trades in the future and they need to fight hard with what they have right now.
“The trade deadline is over. A lot of people got an opportunity just to move on, notice this is what we have, this is what we’re going to be together and now we make a push.”
"I felt like that's as connected as we've been in quite a while." @KingJames on tonight's game and passing @kaj33 to become the leading combined regular season and playoff scorer. pic.twitter.com/Bpogi8U8X1
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 13, 2022
The Lakers are entering the final stage of the season and they need to enter a good streak before it’s too late. Right now, they rank 9th in the Western Conference standings, good to play in the play-in. This is not enough seeing all the expectations created around them before the start of the season.
Frank Vogel, LeBron James and co. need to find solutions to their issues. It’s good that they still have hope, but that won’t do much for them when they enter the court.
