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3 Things The Lakers Should Do Before The NBA Trade Deadline

By Brendan Gilbert

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With only 29 games left this season, it is officially time for the Lakers to get real about preserving their pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

If you’ve been living under a rock this season, here’s the deal: If the Lakers pick falls out of the top 5, it will go to the Phoenix Suns as a result of the ill fated (and ill advised) Steve Nash sign and trade.

But for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, the Lakers have been kind of weird when asked about tanking.  On multiple occasions, the Lakers front office has come out and publicly condemned it, saying essentially that tanking doesn’t work because cosmic forces and karma will ultimately work against you.  Or something like that.

Put simply, that line of thinking is ridiculous.  Maybe it’s the Lakers pride and devotion to doing things the “Lakers way” that prevents them from fully embracing tanking.  Whatever their reasoning may be, the Lakers need to fully get aboard team tank, like yesterday.

This is because fans will be ready to riot if the Lakers pick goes to the Suns due to the front office’s refusal to do what’s clearly in the best interest of the franchise.  Indeed, embracing tanking will put the Lakers in the best position to draft the likes of Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, Emmanuel Mudiay, etc.

Now, of course, there is no guarantee that any of those players will become game changers for the Lakers.  But at least they would provide a glimmer of hope to a franchise that has looked hopeless these past two seasons.

Furthermore, in no reality would it make sense for the Lakers to keep as competitive a roster as possible (or trade for impact players) for the sake of winning a couple more games this season.  Is winning 25 games really any better than winning, say, 20 games?  Of course not, and especially with the Lakers draft pick at stake.

So with the extremely obvious being said, here’s what the Lakers should do by February 19th, i.e. the NBA trade deadline:

1. Shop Players Who Have Trade Value Hard.

Lakers players who have any value around the league, and are not signed beyond this year, should be shopped hard at the trade deadline.  This would include: Jordan Hill, Ed Davis, Jeremy Lin, Wayne Ellington, and Wesley Johnson.

Now, just because you are shopping players hard doesn’t guarantee another team is willing to make a deal.  But even if all that can be fetched is a second round pick this year or a pick in the distant future, the Lakers should pull the trigger.

What’s the point of hanging on to the players listed above when their contracts expire at the end of the year anyway?  (And yes, I’m assuming the Lakers make the commonsensical move of declining Hill’s team option.)

2. Waive Untradeable Players Not Signed Beyond This Year

This applies particularly to Carlos Boozer, who can’t be traded, and Ronnie Price, who no one in their right mind would trade for.  This would allow both Boozer and Price to sign with other teams before the playoff eligibility deadline, which is March 1st.

And in all honesty, I think Boozer would have a great chance of signing with a playoff team given how well he has played this year off the bench.

Price, on the other hand, probably has no chance of getting picked up but at least he could explore the possibility.  As an aside, what would it say about Byron Scott’s bizarre affinity towards Price if no team picked him up after he was waived?

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3. Fill Out The Open Roster Spots With Players From The D-Fenders.

The Lakers rightfully deserve credit for putting together a talented roster for their D-League affiliate, the D-Fenders.  So in the event that roster spots are opened up by the moves mentioned above, the Lakers should absolutely call up some of these players.

Specifically, Jamaal Franklin, Vander Blue and Jabari Brown have all shown that they are potential NBA players.  Our own Matthew Patterson broke down why calling up Franklin could pay dividends for the Lakers.  And Blue and Brown are two of the most dominate scorers in the entire D-League.  Check out some D-Fenders boxscores if you don’t believe me.

With the Lakers’ season having been lost for some time now, why not take a chance on a few up and coming players on the D-Fenders?

***

While making the moves specified above won’t guarantee anything, that doesn’t mean the Lakers shouldn’t do everything in their power to put themselves in the best position to keep their draft pick in the upcoming draft.  Cosmic forces and karma aside, there is simply no logical argument to the contrary.

One can only hope that Lakers management sees it this way now.

Next: Lakers Rumors: Goran Dragic or Isaiah Thomas?

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