With weeks to go before the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers are one of the few teams with a trade already in the books. But according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, the Lakers are likely still not done making moves as they look to improve the roster for the 2024-25 season.
“My understanding, as I reported, is that the Lakers are still going to be evaluating the trade market and they are not satisfied with the roster. They want to continue to improve it and explore those opportunities. So, I think a trade is realistic,” said Buha on his YouTube show. “Now, does that involve a first-round pick or not, I think that’s less clear. Again, something I’ve reported on is, when we talk about what other people around the league are saying or thinking with the Lakers, there’s been some skepticism as to them giving up a first or giving up both firsts.”
The Lakers made headlines when they traded D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks to the Nets last month in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. The trade received a mixed reception among Lakers fans but it might just be the first of a series of moves this season.
At 20-15, the Lakers are currently 5th in the standings and just a few games back from a top-three seed in the West. Thanks to the heroics of LeBron James (40) and Anthony Davis (31), they are holding their own against steep competition and are in a position to avoid the play-in tournament for the first time in years.
But after giving up some of their last remaining assets in the Russell trade, the Lakers are somewhat limited in who they add before February’s deadline. Between James, Davis, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, and Bronny, there are six untouchable players this season but everyone else is up for grabs.
The biggest question for the Lakers now is which players they can acquire before the deadline. While Bradley Beal is on the table, many Lakers fans are against this idea and the conditions of his contract make it a hard sell for the Lakers as a potential trade target.
Instead, the Lakers could acquire mid-level veteran players like Bruce Brown from the Denver Nuggets, Jonas Valanciunas from the New Orleans Pelicans, or Collin Sexton from the Utah Jazz. The priority for the Lakers is shoring up their depth and adding some versatility in the frontcourt to keep up with some of the top teams in the West.
This season, as LeBron nears the end of his career, the Lakers are committed to building the best team possible and putting their star in a position to close out his NBA tenure as a winner. After 21 years in the league, LeBron can’t carry a team like he used to and the team will need to give up their future if they want to stay competitive for the remainder of LeBron’s two-year, $100 million contract.
The next game for the Lakers is at 7:30 PM tonight against the Dallas Mavericks (American Airlines Center). It’s their last game on the road before returning to the Crypto.com arena on Thursday, January 9th, to face the Charlotte Hornets at 10:30 PM EST. Finally, on January 11th, the Lakers play the San Antonio Spurs in the Crypto.com arena at 10:30 PM EST.
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