Lakers News: LA Officially Does Nothing At 2024 Trade Deadline
Your Los Angeles Lakers remained quiet at the 2024 NBA trade deadline, opting not to make any moves before the clock struck 12 p.m. PT.
Instead the Lakers are looking to acquire through the buyout market, and likely pursue a third star over the summer, when it will have far more future draft capital to exchange in a deal, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell was one of the biggest names being circled around as a potential player to be traded, but the Lakers instead will be keeping Russell. This now looks like a welcomed change-up, especially with how well Russell played over the last 11 games, in which he is averaging 23.5 points per game.
The Lakers were also thought of as a team who could have added in one of the players from the Charlotte Hornets, who were one of the most active teams at the NBA Trade Deadline. Instead, the Hornet traded PJ Washington to the Dallas Mavericks while Miles Bridges refused a trade.
Another surprise on trade deadline day was that the Atlanta Hawks did not deal Dejounte Murray, who was another player the Lakers could have considered trading for.
Look for the Lakers to instead be active on the buyout market, and acquire extra depth and talent that way as they try to make a playoff push. Right now, the Lakers are 27-25 and hold the ninth seed in the Western Conference. They'll want to add in a key piece of two to ideally move up and avoid playing in the play-in tournament come time for the NBA Playoffs.
