If we’re not tanking, what moves should the Lakers make to become more competitive?
Burden: There really aren’t too many feasible trades going that could place the Lakers back in contention for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
No, don’t come at me with your Deron Williams hypotheses; despite his decent start to the season, I’d rather start at the one.
I could recite a list as long as my arm of players that would make this team slightly more competitive, but breaking the berth is essentially impossible this year, especially when we also value in the financial flexibility that the team isn’t phenomenally far away from having.
Asai: Trade expiring contracts for better talent. Outside of an aging Kobe, the Lakers resemble more of a D-league team in terms of talent. They need to land at least one star before the trade deadline or risk getting “skunked” again this off-season in free agency.
Swarm and Sting
Patterson: Don’t make any. Their are no players that the Lakers could acquire this season that could make them contenders. There are a few player they could trade for that would make them an average team, but I’d rather have them get a top 5 pick than finish 9th or 10th in the western conference and give up their pick to Phoenix.
Rude: If we aren’t tanking, then we need to start swinging for the fences. Players like Williams or Roy Hibbert may be able to be had if we belly up and offer our first round pick from Houston and a load of expiring contracts. Is that smart? Maybe, maybe not. It would give the Lakers more star power heading into free agency next year, which could be key in recruiting players. But it also probably isn’t enough to get them into the playoffs in the loaded Western Conference, either.
Tran: The Lakers do have a chance to improve if they can get a team to take on the expiring contract of Steve Nash for a decent caliber player that can help them win games. There is no way that the Lakers should be thinking about trading the protected pick they got from Houston in the Jeremy Lin trade because that would give them 2 first round picks in this upcoming years deep draft.