The Los Angeles Lakers don’t have a championship roster right now, but GM Rob Pelinka is working overtime to try and find his team some quality reinforcements. Unfortunately, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers are currently being shut out of trade talks by the majority of teams.
“Dating back to last season’s trade deadline, the Lakers’ front office has been met with more closed doors when canvassing the league for trade opportunities,” wrote McMenamin. “It’s hard to tell whether that is because the Lakers’ roster is seen as undesirable by other teams, or because of L.A.’s reluctance to offer future draft picks (and compromise its post-LeBron future), or because the CBA has limited activity, with teams either already stuck above the second apron or dreadfully avoiding it. The Lakers still consider adding frontcourt depth behind Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes a priority, sources told ESPN, with Wood yet to play this season and two-way center Christian Koloko a development project.”
It’s no secret that the Lakers have been looking to make some upgrades in several key positions, including at center where Anthony Davis has been tasked to handle the majority of big man duties. If they can add another big man to the rotation, it will help alleviate AD’s burden and provide some insurance for his inevitable injury.
The Lakers also have a need at the point guard position, thanks to the disappointing play of D’Angelo Russell. If they can flip Russell and other assets for a more reliable option in the backcourt, it will surely help the offense and ensure that they are playing with maximum efficiency.
Finding the right deal is obviously easier said than done, but the Lakers don’t intend to stop looking now that the season has started. In fact, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing elite-level basketball, the urgency for the Lakers to make a move is stronger than ever and they’ll need to do something if they want to contend for a title. At 6-4 this season, the Lakers already have a solid core in place that can keep up with some of the best teams in the league.
But with room for improvement on both ends of the floor, the Lakers have been looking to make a trade for a while now and it’s likely to involve giving up either D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, or even young rookie sharpshooter Dalton Knecht. Of course, it might also require the Lakers to part with one of their lucrative first-round draft picks.
So far, however, the Lakers have been going unanswered on the trade market and opposing teams have been shutting down any attempts to strike a deal. Unless the Lakers are willing to give up their draft picks, or part with their prized young players, they may never be able to strike a meaningful deal and it will limit what kind of success they can have in the final years of the LeBron James era.
For now, there’s still time for the Lakers to find the right trade but the truth is that not many teams are interested in what they have to offer. With their important players essentially off-limits, teams aren’t even giving the Lakers the time of day to negotiate and unless Pelinka is willing to take a bigger risk, he’ll be stuck with this team until next summer.
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