The Los Angeles Lakers are not having a good time either on or off the court. They are currently stuck at the 13th seed of the Western Conference table. Also, the front office of the Lakers is not totally happy with the current roster. They are looking at the future as well as the present. How can the Lakers turn things around in the current season? The chances of direct qualification to playoffs look like a farce at this moment, but they can try to get into the top ten. So that they can make it to the play-in tournament.
It is a shame if a franchise like the Lakers with such a rich legacy doesn’t make it to the playoffs back-to-back seasons. Hence, the Lakers are looking for every possible option to make things better. After the loss against the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis mentioned that the players are not busy with how the trade deadline works in their favor, but they are only focusing on “winning.”
Viable Options For The Lakers Before The Deadline On Thursday
Trade to Toronto Raptors – Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. are two excellent options for the Lakers to get on their roster. They can make a difference to their current win-loss ratio of 25-29. The 28-year-old Fred has a pretty good average with 19.8, 6.5, and 1.6 points, assists, and steals, respectively. His best comes out under pressure and is also very reasonable, with only 22.8 million required to buy him.
Hence a perfect choice for the Lakers. The 24-year-old Gary will also be a handy player, with only 18.7 million needed to buy him. The average of Trent Jr. is also pretty good, with 18.9, 2.5, and 1.6 points, rebounds, and assists, respectively. Either of the two or both will be beneficial for the Lakers.
Trade to Utah Jazz – Mike Conley and Malik Beasley are great options. Malik requires only 16.5 million dollars and averages 39.7% from the field. Plus, his average of points, rebounds, and assists are pretty good too. Mike only needs $24.4 million for the next season. And he is shooting at an average of 40.7% from the field, even better than Malik. The average in terms of points, rebounds, and assists is good. Also, the Jazz can throw in some picks for the second round to make it a much better deal for the Lakers.
Trade to Charlotte Hornets – Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, and Mason Plumlee are great options. Rozier is averaging 21.7 ppa. But the Hornets would love to get him off their chest because his contract is pretty huge. To entice the Hornets, the Lakers can throw in some picks from their first round of 2027 for Plumlee and Hayward. If this materializes, then the Lakers will get two veterans on their roster. It will increase their chances of qualifying for the play-in tournament.
LA Lost Their Potential Trade Target, Kyrie Irving
Even though AD says that the players are not very concerned with “who’s traded or who’s staying,” it is very well known that there is one player in their roster who had been in discussion for being traded for a long time. The 34-year-old point guard, Russell Westbrook, is somehow not fitting in well on the roster anymore.
Even the fans are excited to see the Lakers let go of Westbrook. And when Kyrie Irving suddenly exploded the news that he wanted to be traded out of the Brooklyn Nets, the front office and the fans of the Lakers got very excited. Even the star of the team, LeBron James, was one of the big names who voted for a Kyrie Irving trade.
Irving and James have a history that goes a long way back. Irving and James together won the NBA championship in 2016 for Cleveland Cavaliers. However, things again did not turn out as the fans hoped they would. Despite the Lakers being at the forefront of the Kyrie Irving trade, eventually, the Nets decided to sell him to the Mavericks. Now, even when the Kyrie Irving plan did not work out according to the Lakers’ plan. Let’s look at all the possibilities to which Russell Westbrook trade can materialize.