The Los Angeles Lakers need to make some trades before the Feb. 5 deadline if they are to be viewed as serious title contenders, but the chances of them making any appear to be slim. NBA insider Brian Windhorst stated on The Hoop Collective podcast that he only sees two scenarios in which the Lakers make a move.
“I think the Lakers heavy lifting will be done in the summer,” Windhorst said. “And I think if they do anything at the deadline, I think there’s one of two things that would happen. One, it would be something akin to what they did with Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, where they get a guy on such a discount they can’t say no, or they trade expiring contracts for a guy, they rent a play or whatever.
“Or they make a move that’s substantial where the guy is going to be there for years into the future,” Windhorst continued. “And that’s hard to do. They would have done it already. I don’t think there’s going to be sort of a middle path where they’re going to be able to do a deal that all of a sudden leaves them their flexibility this summer, but also helps them immediately.
“I think accomplishing both of those are going to be next to impossible,” Windhorst added.
Let’s look at the first scenario first. There is no indication as of now of anyone noteworthy and without major concerns being available at a massive discount. If that were to happen, you’d imagine the Lakers would face stiff competition. Who wouldn’t want to bring in a good player if the asking price is ridiculously low?
As for the second scenario, Windorst reckons they would have already made that kind of a move if they had one in mind. There really isn’t any point in delaying it until the deadline, but an opportunity could potentially arise at the very end.
The issue, though, is that the Lakers would have to trade a first-round pick if they are to make a substantial move. They don’t appear to be very keen on parting with that pick. The reason is that if the Lakers keep hold of that pick, they’d have three first-rounders to trade in the upcoming offseason. They can go big-name hunting with that kind of draft capital.
So, it’s far likelier than not that we won’t see the Lakers make a move between now and the deadline. They’ll go ahead with this group, which has experienced some great highs and lows.
The Lakers are currently fifth in the West with a 28-17 record. They are just 2.5 games behind the 31-15 San Antonio Spurs, who are second, but aren’t really thought of as a team that can win it all because of how bad they are defensively.
The Lakers have shown some improvement on that end of the floor, but still have a 117.0 defensive rating, which ranks 25th. History shows you’re not going to win a title when you struggle to this extent.
The only way to improve on the defensive end is via trades. We listed the seven best targets for the Lakers ahead of the deadline, but they’re going to have to give up that pick for most of them. Just some expiring contracts won’t be enough.
There is just over a week left now for the deadline, so we’ll find out soon enough what conclusion the Lakers have come to with regard to their pick.
