Lakers Rumors: Should Lakers Nation believe these trade rumors or not?
By Ronald Agers
Lakers rumors start when adversity hits. A four-game losing streak that includes a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers definitely qualifies. Kyle Kuzma’s trainer calling out LeBron James puts Kuz in the spotlight as a guy to be traded. Which rumor is to believed? Lake Show Life helps you out.
Los Angeles Lakers rumors are beginning to pick up. The Lakers rumor mill will be running rampant for the next six to eight weeks. Only this year it will pale in comparison to last year when the Lakers chase for Anthony Davis was the number one reality show in the world for 10 days. It will be different for the rest of the NBA as well.
December 15th was a special day for the NBA trade season. Now free agents that were signed over the summer are now eligible to be traded. In short, there are now more opportunities for movement around the league. Something that was hamstrung with 40 percent of the league’s players on the move this summer.
The question floating around Lakers Nation is: What kind of options do the Los Angeles Lakers have for improvement for a deep run in the playoffs?
For the first two months of the NBA regular season, this type of conversation would be considered stupid. The Lake Show was the hottest show in town racing out to a 24-3 record with the chemistry experiment of LeBron and AD flowing rather smoothly. But after losing the best record in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks as a part of a four-game slide, here we are.
The losing streak showed the Lakers have flaws that need to be addressed. The defense took a nosedive, plummeting to 28th in net rating during the losing streak. The slippage shows that a need for another wing player is needed. A playmaker to place next to LeBron was an issue when things were good. Now that a groin injury is becoming a problem, now the Lakers really need somebody.
While other teams near the top of the standings like the Bucks, Clippers, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers possibly being active at the trade deadline, the Lakers really can’t count on the trade market to improve their roster.
Andre Iguodala won’t be bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies until all possibilities are exhausted. Even then, it is rumored that the Grizz is making things difficult for the Lakers to acquire him anyway. But if other players get bought out, it’s safe to assume that they will want to join the LeBron James “I want a trip to the NBA Finals” program.
Right now the Lakers want another big forward to guard the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George or Giannis Antetokounmpo in a seven-game playoff series. Danny Green has been underwhelming and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is too small. Kyle Kuzma is a suspect defender and Avery Bradley may not be enough.
But that won’t stop numerous outlets to hand out unrealistic options as Lakers rumors for clickbait. Lake Show Life is here to help guide you through truth and fiction. We discussed in detail what league GMs would want from the Lakers roster to make a trade. Now we will investigate some of the rumors floating around.
But before going into that. First, let’s go into Rob Pelinka’s office and look over what the team’s options really are.