Los Angeles Lakers: 2019 NBA Trade Deadline expectations

With the trade deadline almost here, what can we expect from the Los Angeles Lakers?

Somehow the most talked about team in all of sports, supposedly on the verge of making a league altering move, has been the quietest team in Los Angeles at the trade deadline.  Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers made a move to swap a young shooter in Svi Mykhailiuk for a proven one in Reggie Bullock, but that is not the notification Laker fans were expecting to see on their phones in the middle of the night as the trade deadline approaches.

But what should Lakers fans expect to happen in the last hours leading up to the 3PM eastern trade deadline?

They probably should not expect much according to perhaps the most plugged in source on the entire Anthony Davis and Lakers trade saga, the Los Angeles Times’ Brad Turner. He reported Tuesday, that the Lakers had pulled out of the running for an Anthony Davis trade because of ludicrous demands for four future first round picks and six to eight picks total.

That report may have leaked because of home town posturing for position awaiting a New Orleans counter offer at the last minute. Yet it is more likely that the Pelicans’ plan from the beginning was to let the Lakers bid against themselves for Davis because they plan to set the market with that offer this offseason.

However, if the Lakers fail to get the deal done, it is some what of a public misstep for Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, and they will likely have to still make a change because of some bruised egos these trade rumors have left behind. If the 136-94 beat down by the Indiana Pacers was not enough to show that it is not all sunshine and rainbows in Tinseltown, then all that needed to be seen was the image of LeBron James sitting on the bench with three open seats separating him from his teammates. That image says more than a thousand words and is symbolic of the state of flux that the Lakers franchise is in as of now.

That is why the Lakers need to make another move before the deadline to shake up the roster even if it is not a trade for Davis, similar to what the Cleveland Cavaliers had to do in the middle of last season to allow James to carry them to another NBA finals. The Lakers realistic aspirations are not that high right now, but breaking up the meme team bench squad or shipping out one of the young guys could be a good way to regroup and spark the team to make a postseason run.

At this point it could be hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube, especially with Lonzo Ball’s father back in the media saying things like, Lonzo has learned a losing attitude in Los Angeles and that Luke Walton is the worst coach he has ever had. The dust up last weekend between Walton and some of the veteran players after the loss to the Golden State also proves that tension is running high in the Lakers building.

Even LeBron admitted to the media this week that all the drama has been tough on the team.

"He told Spectrum Sportsnet Tuesday “Umm.. I don’t know. I mean, obviously we have a lot of guys that have been in trade talks the last couple of weeks that’s never been in that position before, so you have to ask those guys and how they’re dealing with it…“You can’t really ask me. I’ve never really been a part of that, but I’ve been a part of teammates, but I know it has to be tough on a lot of our guys, especially our young guys. You know, right now they’ve just never really been a part of it…“and you know they’re hearing it every single day and I know that the worst thing that you can do right now is be on social media and I know all young guys love being on social media, so that definitely can’t help.”"

Taking all this into consideration, it would still be a shocker if the Lakers made a dramatic move before the deadline if they can not get the Pelicans to budge on an Anthony Davis deal. They are more likely to trade for some other veterans that are on expiring contracts similar to the move to get Reggie Bullock that went down earlier this week.

Regardless if they make a move or not, the Lakers are still in relatively good position to make it to the postseason. The Clippers figure to drop off dramatically after trading their best player Tobias Harris to the Sixers and the Mavericks also made moves to send their team into tank mode for this one season. That leaves the Lakers to compete for the eighth seed with the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves, who each lack a star player in the same stratosphere as LeBron, so the Lakers should presumably have the upper hand.