Lakers News: East Vet Shockingly Waived, Could LA Make A Move?

Los Angeles will work the buyout market the rest of the way.

The 2024 NBA trade deadline has come and gone with the Los Angeles Lakers deciding to not make any deals. Despite all their struggles this season, the Lakers thought it best to not make a move instead of making a bad one.

The team will now rely on the buyout market for help the rest of the season and use their remaining assets to load up in the summer. Los Angeles will have some interest from players on the buyout market simply due to having LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the roster.

One name that will now be available is a player that the Lakers were linked with before the trade deadline ended. That would be point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who was traded to the Toronto Raptors from the Brooklyn Nets. 

Sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic that, in a cost-cutting move, Dinwiddie will be waived by Toronto and is free to join a team like the Lakers on the open market.

Getting Dinwiddie won't solve all the problems for the Lakers, but it will help their depth. With guard Gabe Vincent still out due to injury until at least March, Dinwiddie can give them an extra body that can knock down three-point shots. Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times speculates Dinwiddie, who's from LA, could be a good fit.

On the season with the Nets, the veteran point guard averaged 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. He wouldn't the flashy pickup that many fans may have wanted, but he is serviceable enough to get the job done -- if the job is being more available than Gabe Vincent.

The key for the Lakers will be to land some pieces on the buyout market, possibly including Dinwiddie. They now can focus on getting to the postseason (no sure thing, as they're just two games ahead of the 11th-seeded Golden State Warriors), where anything can happen.