The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly didn’t make a trade at the deadline because they are high on the current roster they have and want to be able to pursue a star this coming offseason.
They also reportedly were only presented with trades that would have given the team marginal upgrades this season and the team would have had to part ways with its most valuable assets to make that happen.
It appears that the Lakers think that they can turn things around this season, and they may have already begun to do that. Los Angeles is on a three-game winning streak entering Thursday night’s matchup with the Denver Nuggets.
Over that three-game streak, the Lakers have picked up two quality wins over contenders in the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics – with both games coming on the road.
Los Angeles is now 27-25 on the season and holds the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers ended up in the play-in tournament last season, and they still found their way to the Western Conference Finals as the No. 7 seed in the West.
In addition, the they reportedly are hopeful that they’ll be able to get both guard Gabe Vincent and forward Jarred Vanderbilt back in the lineup to make a run this coming postseason.
Vincent, who was one of the Lakers’ big offseason signings, has barely played for the team this season due to a knee injury. It’s possible the team views adding him back to the rotation – when he is able to return – as if it had made a trade at the deadline.
The Lakers went on a major run after the deadline last season, but they also shook up the roster in the 2022-23 campaign, adding Vanderbilt, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba in trades.
Still, the team has shown it can play at a high level this season, winning the NBA’s In-Season Tournament and beating some quality teams as of late.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the roster – and both players currently staying healthy – the Lakers are going to be threats as long as they make the playoffs in the West.
Hopefully, the team’s decision not to make a deal will pay off with the current group playing at a high level over the coming months.
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