The Los Angeles Lakers did not make a deal before the trade deadline passed on Thursday.
However, according to a recent report from Brian Windhorst, the Lakers and New York Knicks were close to a deal on Wednesday before the plan fell apart.
The Knicks and Lakers were ‘close’ on a deal yesterday but the trade fell apart, per Brian Windhorst pic.twitter.com/4NuOgII9XS
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 10, 2022
It’s hard to guess which players the teams were discussing before the deal fell apart. One thing that is obvious, however, is that both teams could have used some major help at the deadline.
After becoming one of the surprise stories of the 2020-21 season and advancing to the playoffs, the Knicks are struggling in the 2021-22 season. They currently own a 24-31 record and No. 12 seed in the East.
As for the Lakers, fans in L.A. know just how hard things have been. Despite having three stars on the roster in LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis, the Lakers have been miserable all season long.
An argument could be made that they suffered their worst loss of the season earlier this week when they fell to a severely undermanned Portland Trail Blazers team.
Luckily, the Lakers will have more opportunities to improve their roster and try to get back into the thick of the playoff chase in the West. The buyout market figures to be interesting this season, and the Lakers will surely try to convince some talented veterans to try to help turn things around in L.A.
Whether or not those veterans actually want to come and play within a situation that seems to be getting more and more strained, however, remains to be seen.
