Former NBA All-Star feels the Lakers would defeat this West favorite in a first-round playoff showdown.
As the Los Angeles Lakers struggled to find their footing this season, it was virtually expected that they would be aggressive approaching the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline. However, that did not happen. Instead, the Lakers decided not to make any changes at the deadline. In what turned out to be one of the more unusual trades of the trade deadline season, it’s still difficult to accept weeks later. According to one Lakers writer, there is speculation that Los Angeles chose not to make a trade at the deadline because the season was deemed “beyond salvation.”
This is a bold assertion or theory that would be nearly impossible to establish in one way or another. However, it is interesting that the Lakers chose to hold pat at the trade deadline after being so aggressive in the offseason and last year’s trade deadline. You might argue that they were in a worse situation last season but were still quite aggressive at the NBA Trade Deadline in retooling the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It was surprised that they did not do so this season.
On the one hand, it’s logical that the Lakers didn’t want to deplete their assets at the trade deadline in favor of potentially making a huge move during the summer. On the other hand, is it really wise to essentially waste another season of LeBron’s prime? That is essentially what the Lakers elected to do in the absence of a trade at the deadline. It was absurd to expect them to just flip a switch down the stretch given their performance up to that point in the season. Are the Los Angeles Lakers planning a huge move for the offseason?
With only a few weeks left in the regular season, we now know that the Lakers cannot turn a theoretical switch. Even if the Lakers qualify for the playoffs through the Play-In Tournament, it is expected that they will make little noise. At best, they might force one of the top seeds into a challenging first-round series, but I don’t think they’ll have much of a chance to pull off a major upset. Much less if they end up playing against the Denver Nuggets.
As the offseason begins, it is evident that this club will need to add another key element if they want to challenge for the championship with LeBron in the coming years. The Lakers decided not to make a move at this year’s NBA trade deadline. They cannot afford to do the same throughout the summer. Los Angeles will almost certainly need to make a significant move in the coming months. This season may be a lost cause, but the Lakers still have a lot of work to do before the summer if they want to reclaim contender status in the Western Conference.
