Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons they could stay pat at the NBA Trade Deadline
By Ed Schrenzel
With the February 7th NBA Trade Deadline less than two weeks away, what should the Los Angeles Lakers do? These are three reasons they may stay pat at the deadline.
For perspective, let’s remember that Magic Johnson moved into his current position with the Los Angeles Lakers two years ago. Almost immediately, he traded Lou Williams for a draft pick that turned into Josh Hart. Hart will never be close to the offensive machine that Sweet Lou is, but in the long run, his defense, tenacity and hustle might make the trade look better.
Last year, Magic traded Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. for as-yet unproven but promising draft pick Moritz Wagner (a prospective stretch big) and room under the cap to sign someone this summer. A full evaluation of that trade will have to wait, pending how the Lakers use that cap space.
Going into this season, Magic and LeBron James agreed how the season would likely transpire. They both expected the Lakers to start slowly while all the players grew accustomed to one another, then gradually improve, finally coming on strong the final month of the season.
Neither one anticipated that so many Laker players would be bitten by the injury bug. Due to injuries, suspension and personal reasons, key players have been forced to miss an unusually high number of games.
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Specifically, Brandon Ingram has missed 11 of the team’s 49 games, Rajon Rondo has sat out a whopping 34, and Michael Beasley was out for 28. JaVale McGee missed only seven games after suffering a bout of pneumonia, but clearly isn’t quite the same player he was before he was sidelined.
Lonzo Ball, after playing the first 47 games, will be out for about a dozen games or more with a severely sprained ankle. Kyle Kuzma, while trying to play through ankle and hip injuries, is noticeably less mobile which has lessened his effectiveness.
And then, of course, there’s LeBron himself, who has sat out a career-high 15 games (and counting) while recuperating from what is termed a “strained groin”.
It’s one thing for a veteran team with a history of playing together to adjust to players who are MIA. It’s quite another for a team with a mixture of young players and veterans who have logged little time alongside one another on the court.
One of the biggest question marks is James. Since he has logged so many minutes, it should have come as no surprise that he was overdue for some sort of injury. When he returns, is it reasonable to expect that he’ll be just as good as he was before he suffered the injury?
The team is being cautious, understanding that groin injuries so often reoccur. We all remember the way injuries piled up on Kobe Bryant his last few years in the NBA. Will LeBron suffer the same fate?
The goal this season has always been to qualify for the postseason, gain playoff experience for the young core (Kuzma, Ingram, Ball and Hart), then try to add a star free agent this summer while leaving the young core intact. But all the injuries make it much tougher for Magic and Rob Pelinka to decide what to do at the trade deadline.
How much impact will a minor tweak here and there really have on the team’s fortunes? If everyone were to get healthy, how long would they take to get on the same page? Have the young players shown enough to warrant management’s continued patience? Or should the Lakers start to move in a different direction and blow up the roster now?
The guess here is that the Lakers won’t do much at the deadline, and might even stand pat, for the following reasons.
1. Salary Cap Considerations
Last summer, the Lakers intentionally signed all free agents not named LeBron James to 1-year contracts. The idea was to leave as much room as possible for this summer. Other than James, only seven young players are under contract for 2019-20, leaving plenty of cap space.
There has been no indication of a change in philosophy. That should mean that the Lakers are highly unlikely to trade for anyone signed beyond this season other than possibly for an All-Star. Therefore, prospective trade targets are limited.