It appears that the problems with the Los Angeles Lakers are starting to make their way off the court.
While the Lakers stood pat at the 2022 trade deadline, they had options to tinker with the roster. In fact, there was one deal they were close to executing before it fell apart.
Following the deadline, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka claimed to be in constant communication with superstars LeBron Jame and Anthony Davis regarding the Lakers’ inaction.
“You can’t force another team to present yourself with a deal that is going to make your team be better. That’s up to them,” Pelinka said. “And throughout this process we had different things we looked at and like I’ve done in the past had conversations with LeBron and Anthony about it and I would say there’s alignment here. And that’s all that matters.”
However, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin uncovered on Friday that one source close to James and Davis said that the assertion that they were in the loop is completely false.
Dave McMenamin on what went on behind the scenes for the Lakers on Trade Deadline Day.
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“I am told from a source familiar with LeBron and Anthony’s thinking is that that is ‘totally false,'” McMenamin said. “There was no conversation between Rob Pelinka, LeBron and Anthony Davis on Thursday. There was no go-ahead of an okay to have inaction at the deadline. So, where things stand right now, that tells me that it’s not just problems with what you’re seeing on the court with the Lakers losing six out of eight, but there’s problems off the court between an alignment as Rob Pelinka termed it and his leaders on this team.”
The Lakers are a complete mess. The team holds a 26-30 record and is sitting in the No. 9 slot in the Western Conference.
Of course, the Lakers’ largest move at the deadline would have been to move 2017 MVP Russell Westbrook, who has not fit in with the team and earned a poor reputation with the fans.
The franchise reportedly does not believe it can win at a high level with Westbrook playing next to James and Davis. The triple-double king is averaging just 18.3 points, 7.8 boards and 7.6 assists per game this season.
Although Westbrook has one of the most decorated resumes in league history, he has been sidelined and benched. Pelinka met with Westbrook for two hours over his first benching.
The Lakers had the opportunity to ship Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for guard John Wall, though they would have had to give draft compensation. As a matter of fact, James reportedly had a big say in the potential deal.
Now, it seems like the Lakers’ problems are on a whole other planet.
