Report: Sense around NBA is Lakers will make ‘half-measure trade’ or stand pat
After a rocky run of games since trading for Dorian Finney-Smith, those around the NBA aren’t convinced the Lakers will make another trade this season.
The optimism that came with the Lakers swinging a late-December trade has been stamped out in recent weeks. After an initial run of wins that Dorian Finney-Smith joined in the midst of, the Lakers have lost four of the last six games.
When the Lakers made their early move, most assumed it would be the first of multiple moves. After over a year of no deals, the Lakers were finally showing life at the deadline and surely that wouldn’t be the only time they do so...right?
Well!
With the trade deadline just over two weeks away, the latest report from Jovan Buha of The Athletic suggests that the Lakers could go back to sitting on their hands this deadline.
The sense around the league, when talking to rival scouts and front-office personnel, is that standing pat or making a half-measure trade (likely one or two second-round picks) is more likely than the Lakers going all-in and trading both of their future first-round picks that can be moved. That’s dependent, of course, on the available players, asking prices and the team’s performance through the deadline.
If this feels like a redux of past seasons, just know you’re not alone in that sentiment. This is something that could have been written any time in the last 18 months and it wouldn’t have felt out of place.
Now, if you’re looking for some solace, this is:
- One report from one writer
- A sentiment that hasn’t been shared anywhere else
- Reporting on what others around the NBA think, not what the Lakers are thinking.
None of this is to discredit Buha’s work in any way. He’s as connected as it comes to reporting on the Lakers. Even he would probably agree with at least most of the caveats above.
At the same time this is being reported, Dan Woike of the LA Times is also reporting that the Lakers are making calls, specifically about centers. Multiple things can be true here.
And realistically, there probably isn’t many players the Lakers could trade both firsts for on the market. That type of player isn’t even available.
There won’t be much time to wait before we find out an answer on whether the Lakers are going to stand pat. But it’s a bit of déjà vu all over again in all the bad ways reading a report like that.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.