{"id":63310,"date":"2024-02-06T12:09:16","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T17:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=63310"},"modified":"2024-02-06T12:09:16","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T17:09:16","slug":"nba-rumors-lakers-trade-chances-decreasing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/06\/nba-rumors-lakers-trade-chances-decreasing\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Rumors: Lakers Trade Chances Decreasing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Lakers have been at the center of countless trade rumors, yet it looks like they&#8217;ll retain their core as the deadline approaches.<\/p>\n<p>The Athletic&#8217;s Lakers insider <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/5253703\/2024\/02\/06\/hornets-lakers-nba-trade-deadline-lebron\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jovan Buha<\/a> reported this morning that &#8220;the likelihood that the Lakers stand pat or make a marginal move has somewhat increased in recent days, according to team and league sources.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The probability of the Lakers either maintaining their current roster or making a minor transaction has somewhat risen in recent days, per <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jovanbuha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@jovanbuha<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThough James has made it clear where he stands and that he\u2019d like for the organization to approach this deadline with the\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Hl7A3uAxHV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Hl7A3uAxHV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheDunkCentral\/status\/1754896572070961258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>NBA Rumors: Lakers Trade Chances Decreasing<\/h2>\n<h3>Lakers Turnaround?<\/h3>\n<p>Every Laker not named <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Davis<\/a> has been the subject of trade rumors, as the Lakers have failed to build upon their NBA In-Season Tournament championship. LA has gone 13-16 since then, sitting 9th in the Western Conference at 27-25.<\/p>\n<p>James has been putting public pressure on the front office.<\/p>\n<p>After the Lakers 122-138 loss to the Atlanta Hawks last week, the 39 year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KingJames\/status\/1752594250594652402?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">posted a heavily-discussed hour-glass emoji<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n<p>Since that post, however, the Lakers have won three games in a row, all on the road.<\/p>\n<p>With James and Davis both out, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/reaveau01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Austin Reaves<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/russeda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">D&#8217;Angelo Russell<\/a>-led Lakers managed to pull out a highly improbable road victory against the Boston Celtics. They followed that up by defeating the red-hot New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, this time with James and Davis both starring.<\/p>\n<h3>Lakers Trade Possibilities<\/h3>\n<p>The biggest name to have been linked with the Purple and Gold has undoubtedly been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murrade01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dejounte Murray<\/a>. LA is still interested in the former All-Star &#8220;as long as the Lakers don\u2019t have to empty the cupboard beyond their initial offer of Russell,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hoodsja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Hood-Schifino<\/a>, the 2029 first-round pick (preferably protected) and additional draft compensation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>LA may not be getting a star, but they will be aggressive in looking to land a wing defender.<\/p>\n<p>Jarred Vanderbilt, acquired at the deadline last year in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Westbrook<\/a> trade, has asserted himself as the primary perimeter defender on the team. His recent right-foot sprain has ruled him out for at least four weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Available defensive wings are a surplus on the trade market this year, and the Lakers could spring a move for one of them, Buha stated.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/finnedo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/grantje01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jerami Grant<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brownbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bruce Brown Jr<\/a>. are others who fill important needs on the wing, according to team and league sources. Otherwise, the Lakers will likely make a move along the margins, possibly shedding some salary in the process, and then work the buyout market for a player or two.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Lakers Western Conference Outlook<\/h3>\n<p>Pelinka won the trade deadline last year, transforming the Lakers from a pretender into a contender with a series of moves. He will need to assess if Los Angeles has enough to overcome a crowded Western Conference.<\/p>\n<p>The West is even stronger this year, with the familiar foe Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers poised to make a run at the title.<\/p>\n<p>The Phoenix Suns have lacked continuity this year, but it&#8217;s hard to rule out a team that features <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bookede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Devin Booker<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bealbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bradley Beal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And don&#8217;t forget the rising Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently occupy first and second in the West.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Lakers have been at the center of countless trade rumors, yet it looks like they&#8217;ll retain their core as the deadline approaches. The Athletic&#8217;s Lakers insider Jovan Buha reported this morning that &#8220;the likelihood that the Lakers stand pat or make a marginal move has somewhat increased in recent days, according to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4773,"featured_media":63315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,2,26,62,4721],"tags":[38,4774,1382,662],"class_list":["post-63310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-featured","category-lakers","category-nba","category-trade-rumors","tag-lebron-james","tag-rumors","tag-nba-trade","tag-nba-trade-deadline"],"modified_by":"Adam Echchaibi","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4773"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}