Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, everyone. I'm Dan Woike, and I apologise for the brief break while I finished up a lengthy profile of Darvin Ham. It's only available to subscribers, but you can acquire access for six months for $1. I'd really appreciate it if you checked it out.
Anyway, let’s get down to the Lakers and the topic of talk that’s most surrounding them.
the smallest corner that is feasible
The Times talked to a number of NBA scouts and executives ahead of the start of this season about the Lakers and their best course of action. At the time, the franchise's main trade asset to bring back two or more rotation players in a transaction that would end up costing them both of their first-round picks eligible to be traded—2027 and 2029—was Russell Westbrook, a $47 million albatross with an unknown role on the team.
The organisation made the decision to wait, hoping that the market might open up a little more as teams became more aware of one another and as the deadline for trades on February 9 drew closer.
Since Victor Wembanyama impressed NBA officials in a pair of preseason games in Las Vegas, there hasn't been the aggressive rush to the bottom that some people anticipated. Perhaps cooler heads prevailed once teams once more grasped the more even odds in the NBA lottery.
As a result, the trade market has been rather quiet, with just occasional rumblings about deals that haven't seen any movement.
The Lakers would undoubtedly need to take action at some time, especially with their players doing well after a difficult start.
But now that more than a third of the season has passed, Westbrook has established himself as a player who is rather crucial to the club. LeBron James has injuries. The future of the club is further complicated by Anthony Davis' recent foot injury, which is being handled with such ambiguous wording that it's difficult to get anyone to affirm that he still has both a right and a left foot.
It has somehow put the Lakers in a tighter situation than they were in the summer, which is amazing given how stuck between a rock and a hard place they were before camp. On the one hand, the Lakers are on the outside looking in for the playoffs and have obvious needs, especially without Davis. On the other hand, Davis is out — once more — and team executives are left debating whether or not the present is worth sacrificing the future for given the team's obvious requirements that have put them out of the postseason picture.
In order to learn whether Davis' injury might lead the Lakers to become more aggressive on the trade market, The Times contacted executives from competing companies.
The majority of personnel professionals thought the organisation would push for a trade, although some hedging — "depends on the severity [of the injury]," one Eastern Conference GM noted.
One CEO from a competitor company commented, "[They are] within striking distance and [have] opportunities to improve." You "must."
Another rival claimed that, if dealt with appropriately, the Davis injury would actually strengthen the Lakers' negotiating position. Since the summer, the team has tried to gain advantage in negotiations, and many league observers have labelled them as "desperate" to complete a trade.
The asking price has remained quite high because to this and the early-season date of any conversations. This official believed that if Davis were injured seriously, the Lakers would gain leverage they haven't had since the summer by having a compelling reason to end negotiations and concentrate on the offseason.
In-house criticism of that reasoning was present, but it does have some validity.
Regarding potential targets for the Lakers? That is still disorganised.
People in the organisation are particularly interested in 6-foot-8, 23-year-old wing Cam Reddish of the New York Knicks, who would fill a critical need for the Lakers by adding size on the wing.
Additionally, he was a lottery pick in the past; the Lakers have had some success this season with players like Lonnie Walker IV who are part of this type of reclamation project.
According to league sources, the Knicks are looking to trade Reddish for a protected first-round selection (they surrendered one to Atlanta in the deal to get him, and the Hawks later used it in their trade for Dejounte Murray). Since Reddish isn't part of the Knicks rotation right now, the asking price is probably going to decrease with time.
The potential that clubs saw in Reddish when they selected him as a top prospect in the 2019 NBA Draft, according to some evaluators, may be unlocked with the right teammate, such as someone with the gravity of James.
Now, does this count as a significant move? Most likely not, and certainly not the kind of talent boost the Lakers would require to compensate for an injured Davis or the roster's current problems.
The consensus is that once teams have a better understanding of their future, asking prices may decrease around the league in January (keep an eye on Chicago). However, this has two implications for the Lakers, as it does with so many other things.
One, they might have a better idea of who would be available at a fair price in a few weeks. However, two, the Lakers might be in trouble without their star centre in a few weeks, making a move both more urgent and less necessary (because, maybe, the hole will be too deep).
The right choice is undoubtedly not simple to make, and it may not even exist.
Phoenix and Bill Murray's "Alone on Christmas Day" is the song of the week.
I'll be away from home for the holidays since I'll be in Dallas for the Lakers' Christmas game against Luka Doncic and the Mavericks. And no song better expresses that mood than this delightfully odd debut by my favourite French dance-rock trio and the "Scrooge" actor.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment