With the trade deadline fast approaching, it seems the Lakers’ two biggest stars are growing concerned about the team’s ability to get a deal done.
The Lakers are officially halfway through the NBA season. They are 23-18, good for the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
That’s a modest improvement from where they stood last year after 41 games when they were one game under .500.
However, this is the Los Angeles Lakers and the standard is and will forever be winning titles. The last time a sixth seed won it all was the 1994-95 Houston Rockets, so the Lakers either have to try and accomplish something similar with this group or upgrade the roster to climb the rankings in the West.
The Lakers already made a deal during this NBA trade deadline, trading D’Angelo Russell for Doria Finney-Smith, a move that “surprised” many around the league.
In L.A.’s most recent victory over the Wizards, DFS played his best game in a purple and gold uniform. He scored 16 points and played stealer defense to help the Lakers earn their biggest blowout win of the year.
Still, one move is not enough to take this team to the top and based on a recent article by ESPN’s Shams Charania, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are losing hope that the Lakers can get a deal done.
But with the Feb. 6 trade deadline a little more than two weeks away, league sources told ESPN that James and Davis are growing concerned about the Lakers’ ability to make significant roster upgrades with their two tradeable first-rounders.
James, a four-time champion, and Davis, a one-time champ, have expressed that they want the franchise to make moves to contend for a championship, with the co-stars believing the Lakers are potentially a piece or two away, sources said.
While the Lakers are dealing with relatively new tax apron rules and reviewing what is possible and how much it actually helps this roster, LeBron and AD don’t want to hear about the labor pains; they just want the baby.
Both stars won a title here in 2020 and made a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2023. They want another shot at a contending, but without another trade, they’ll be a player or two away from that being a realistic expectation.
Recent reports certainly indicate the Lakers are also “not satisfied” with the current roster and are still targeting centers in the trade market.
So, while fans and stars alike are concerned about the Lakers’ ability to execute another deal, everyone agrees that moves are needed.
We don’t know how long the LeBron and AD pairing will last. James has a player option for next year and wants to retire as a Laker. It’d be nice if that retirement came with a fifth ring for the king and banner No. 18 for the Lakers, tying them with their rivals, the Boston Celtics.
The question is, can vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka get a deal done before the Feb. 6 deadline to help make that more of a realistic possibility? We’ll find out in a few weeks.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.