The Lakers’ last month of games has revealed the clear gap between them and the top teams in the NBA. While they continue to beat the teams they should, as evidenced by their back-to-back wins over the Grizzlies over the weekend.
A lack of perimeter defense, perimeter shooting and bench scoring all have reared their ugly heads in losses to the likes of the Suns, Rockets and Pistons in recent weeks.
The clear solution to that issue during the season would be dipping into the trade market and finding
a player or players to plug those holes. The Lakers, however, don’t appear ready to race to find a deal.
In his latest article on Substack, longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein noted that the Lakers are in the market for a wing, but they are only looking for a big-time move.
League sources say that the Lakers continue to scour the trade market in hopes of acquiring a two-way wing with size before the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Two factors, though, continue to work against a trade.
1) The market for such wings who can shoot from distance and defend remains quite limited, with New Orleans still resistant to trade interest in both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III.
2) It’s believed that the Lakers are only going to sacrifice their projected financial flexibility in the summer — which is expected to furnish them with the ability to make significant roster changes — only if they can acquire a real needle-mover at the position. Will such a player actually become available over the next four weeks and change?
The Lakers and Pelicans have been previously linked in reports, mainly centered around Herb Jones. Talks with New Orleans haven’t gone far, though, with the Lakers lacking draft capital to make a really enticing offer.
If those two are off the table, then the market is pretty barren for 3-and-D wings. And the available ones will be in high demand as well, further driving up the price.
None of this is to say the Lakers can’t get involved in trade talks. They still have a number of expiring contracts and a first round pick to use. But it seems they won’t be looking for any short-term solutions to problems during the season.
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