Lakers’ Inactivity at NBA Trade Deadline Was the Right Move

There were no big swings to be had, so Los Angeles stood pat and will hope that LeBron James agrees.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers concluded there was not a trade that would make them measurably better.

Will LeBron James agree?

The Lakers, after canvassing the league for weeks, decided to roll with what they got.

Will James be happy about it?

The NBA trade deadline came and went without a word from the El Segundo, Calif., headquarters. A year after overhauling the roster with a flurry of deals, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka did nothing. A roster desperately in need of a talent infusion got none.

“You can’t buy a house,” Pelinka said, “that’s not for sale.”

Indeed. Let’s cut right to it—the Lakers played this deadline right. There were no difference makers out there. Dejounte Murray? Great, if you don’t mind giving up Austin Reaves, a first-round pick and some swaps. Bruce Brown? Say goodbye to the suddenly white-hot D’Angelo Russell and a future first. The Lakers had offers. “Hundreds of them,” Pelinka said. Just none that made sense.

The Lakers hope James agrees with their inactivity at the NBA trade deadline :: Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

Look at the teams that “won” the deadline. The New York Knicks were winners for adding a couple of rotation players from the worst team in the NBA. The Oklahoma City Thunder won by adding an oft-injured forward with playoff experience. The Dallas Mavericks won by trading two first-round picks for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington.

The Lakers didn’t miss out on anything big.

There wasn’t anything big.

“The market is the market,” Pelinka said. “There was very, very few sellers.”

For weeks, the Lakers have pinned their early-season struggles on injuries. To Jarred Vanderbilt. To Gabe Vincent. To Cam Reddish. Rui Hachimura, a pre-deadline acquisition last season, has missed some time. Max Christie rolled his ankle in the first half of L.A.’s loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. A return to full strength, the Lakers reasoned, would have the same effect as any deal they could make.

“We’ve got to look forward to adding those bodies [back] in the coming days,” Pelinka said. “I think they’ll provide a depth for us when we get some healthy players back that are really, really good players.”

There’s truth to that. Vanderbilt, who is out for at least a month with a foot injury, is a versatile defender. Vincent, a celebrated offseason addition after a strong postseason run with Miami, has played in five games this season. Reddish is a reliable wing defender who has missed nearly three weeks with a knee injury.

The Lakers, Pelinka said, will be aggressive on the buyout market. Spencer Dinwiddie, Marcus Morris and Cedi Osman are among the perimeter players expected to be available who could plus-up a struggling offense. And next summer, when Los Angeles will have as many as three first-round picks to deal, the Lakers will go shopping again.

“Which I think will really unlock an access to potentially a greater or bigger swing,” Pelinka said. “We didn’t want to shoot a small bullet now that would only lead to very marginal improvement at the expense of making a much bigger and more impactful movement potentially in June and July.”

Logical, right? But does James see it that way? At 39 years old, the clock on James’s playing days is ticking. James didn’t reveal much during a brief postgame interview Thursday. He was asked what it would take for a healthy Lakers team to make a late season push. “I don’t know,” James said. “We haven’t gotten to that point. It’s hard for me to say.” He was asked about L.A.’s ability to improve internally. “Just health,” James said. “Our whole year has been about health.”

The Lakers need James’s approval. James can be a free agent next summer. Smart money says he will be back. He enjoys Los Angeles, his family is entrenched there and he has a superstar teammate in Anthony Davis locked in long term. But James is also pragmatic. If the Lakers flame out early in the playoffs and don’t make a significant deal before the draft, he could look elsewhere.

“The last conversation I had with him was that he was focused on the guys in the locker room and making them the best players and teammates they could be,” Pelinka said. “I think he said after our last game, ‘I love these guys,’ and he knows as our leader and as our captain that building those guys up and getting the best version of themselves is going to be important to the run we make. And so I’m excited to see that unfold.”

The Lakers can’t afford a gap year. With James, there are none. James will start in the All-Star Game later this month. Davis will come off the bench. Both have been durable and productive, providing enough top-end play for the team to win. L.A. is betting that the wins will come as the injury list shrinks. And then next summer the team will make its move.

“It’s a thoughtful and tricky calculus,” Pelinka said.

Hopefully, James agrees.