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While the Lakers were buyers at the trade deadline, they did more window shopping than anything else.
Sure, there were rumors of trading for players like De’Andre Hunter and Keon Ellis, but LA only made one move, sending Gabe Vincent to Atlanta in exchange for Luke Kennard.
Considering the Lakers are currently eight games back of the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder, more is needed for LA to be a legitimate contender.
So, we asked fans in our latest SB Nation Reacts poll how pleased they were with what the team did at the trade deadline.
The results are in, and only 26% of fans are pleased with the moves made to bolster the roster.
Understandably, fans are displeased. Even LeBron James has admitted the Lakers aren’t a championship team, and with fans wanting a title, seeing the franchise unable to make a trade that makes that possible is unsatisfactory.
The counterargument Lakers President of Basketball Operations made that LA was aggressive by saying no to trades didn’t exactly help his case or ease frustrations with the fanbase either.
So while waiting for the summer, when a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo could become available might be the best move, it doesn’t mean fans will be happy with the current state of the purple and gold.
The only hope fans have now is that the Lakers’ roster can return from the All-Star break healthy.
The trio of LeBron, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves has only played 10 games together. So, if they will all be available the rest of the way, perhaps that will be enough to pull off a surprise run like LA did in 2023, when they made it to the Western Conference Finals.
Currently, the Lakers have +4500 odds to win the NBA title on FanDuel, so it seems there is little faith in LA making noise this season.
For now, Pelinka took a gamble and is betting that it’ll pay off this summer. For his sake, he better be right.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
