Los Angeles Lakers: 3 scenarios for the NBA Trade Deadline

The Lakers Don’t Make any Moves at the trade deadline

Advantages:

1. The Lakers get to keep their young players for the rest of the season, which means once the Purple and Gold are fully healthy, they’d be able to come at their opponents with a top defense and they’d have LeBron back in action to help close out 4th quarters.

That’s a recipe for a very good team that should make the playoffs, without having to make a trade that would sacrifice any of their core personnel.

2. The Lakers would have enough cap space going into the summer to sign a max player. If the Lakers manage to keep their young core and sign either Durant or Kawhi during the off-season, they’d go into next season as the clear favorites to win the championship.

3. Every team in the NBA is miles away from the Warriors. There is no trade the Lakers could make this season that would put them ahead of Golden State. If the Lakers stand pat at the trade deadline they would get the rest of the season to evaluate Hart, Kuzma, Ingram, and Ball. If the Lakers front office determines that one or two of them are busts, then Magic and Pelinka can still make a trade over the summer.

Disadvantages:

1. The Lakers are currently outside of the playoffs looking in and there’s a very real chance they won’t make the postseason for the 6th season in a row. If the Lakers don’t make the playoffs this season, it would be much harder to sign either Durant or Kawhi and it would also stymie the young players on the team’s growth.

2. Even if the Lakers do make the playoffs without making a trade, there’s no guarantee they’ll sign Durant or Kawhi. If the Lakers run out a similar lineup next season as to the one they’re playing this year, it’d be a disaster.

3. Ingram, Hart, or Ball might be busts. This might be the only chance the Lakers get to trade them and pick up a true all-star to pair with LeBron.