This season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been pretty bad. With the worst offense in the league (one of the worst in modern NBA history, actually), they just haven’t had enough juice to power them to win.
Since the team’s 0-5 start, fans have been begging the Lakers to make some moves, specifically to bring in some more shooting and rim protection around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Those cries have fallen on deaf ears so far, and one NBA insider may have revealed that it has something to do with the status of their two injured role players, Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant.
“The Lakers have indeed looked at free agents for a potential in-season roster boost — first Moe Harkless and more recently Joe Wieskamp and Tony Snell — but the sense I got after spending the past week in L.A. is that their preference is to wait for the returns of Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant before making judgments that could lead to changes,” Stein wrote. “The Lakers have high hopes that Schröder in particular can give the offense a boost after both he and Bryant sustained thumb injuries during the preseason that required surgery.”
The Lakers are lacking in several key areas that both Schroder and Bryant could fill when they return to the lineup. But would they be enough to transform this Lakers team into a contender?
Regardless of the answer, Rob Pelinka is unlikely to make any big-time trades right now.
Lakers Must Choose Between Their Future Or Success With Their Current Star Core
Besides LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers don’t have much in the way of assets. The only thing they really have to offer is their remaining pair of first-round picks, which they are reportedly hesitant to give up.
“I’m told the organization will be prudent with their two first-round picks,” reported Shams Charania. “I don’t believe the Lakers are in a position right now to mortgage their future with those two available picks. They’re probably looking at marginal changes around the edges at best. That means trying to make deals without putting in first-round picks. The organization seems to be moving in a direction where they’re going to resist moving first-round picks. [Even] if the season continues to go down this path. For Lakers fans, who are clamoring for a Buddy Hield, Myles Turner move where you’re giving up two first-round picks… It’s not prudent for them to do that.”
The Lakers have not yet given up on this season. The hope is that when their roster gets fully healthy, the team can start winning games at a respectable rate again.
To get further than that, though, they will need to make some serious roster changes that, so far, they haven’t been willing to make.
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