Opinion: Lakers Reportedly Planning Same Trade Deadline Script Despite Season Issues

Ricardo Sandoval | 4 Hours Ago

Nov 21, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka looks on as players warm up prior to the game against the Orlando Magic at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The unofficial start of NBA trade season is here. Dec. 15 marks the first day that trades can occur with players who signed contracts as free agents in July. 

The Golden State Warriors were among the first to make a trade on Saturday, making headlines by trading for veteran and former Lakers guard Dennis Schröder from the Brooklyn Nets.

The Warriors are one of the few who will be aggressive as we get closer to the trade deadline, and the Lakers are expected to be the other. 

The Lakers have been linked to many names, and while it is uncertain who they will get, their approach to the deadline has been revealed. 

NBA insider Jake Fischer said Los Angeles will focus on filling out the team's rotation rather than acquiring another star player to their roster.

"An expectation persists that the Lakers, while currently said to be prioritizing adding depth as opposed to pursuing star-level additions, remain likely to make at least one move," Fischer wrote on Sunday.

The Lakers have been lackluster at best in the last month of the season. Prior to Sunday, L.A. had lost eight of its last 11 games and look far from a contender this season. 

The Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, have the star talent on paper, but they lack the depth to compete with the best teams in the league. 

L.A. has played in 25 games thus second, and it is clear that the Lakers do not have enough in the tank compared to the other contenders in the league. We've seen plenty of Lakers basketball thus far to make that statement, and others who watch, including the front office, would agree. 

The Lakers have been disappointing since winning the title in the 2019-20 season. Despite making the playoffs three of the last four seasons, they've only made it past the first round once. 

L.A. has gone the third estar route, but that proved to be a mistake after they traded most of their depth pieces after the 2021 season for Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook at the time, a trade that still haunts the Lakers and their fans to this day. 

The Lakers need to do anything they can possibly to bolster their roster because what they have now isn't enough in a loaded Western Conference. 

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