It’s hard to complain as a Los Angeles Lakers fan right now, being that we have the second-best record in the NBA plus a roster that includes LeBron James and Anthony Davis…but I will anyway. Many teams got better as a result of today’s 3 p.m. EST NBA trade deadline, but the Lakers weren’t one of them.
Memphis and Miami are focusing on a two-team deal on Andre Iguodala, with Miami and Oklahoma City still unable to reach an agreement on a three-team trade that would land Danilo Gallinari with the Heat, league sources tell ESPN. Talks are fluid until 3 PM.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
Miami has agreed to trade Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters and James Johnson to Memphis for Andre Iguodala, Solomon Hill and Jae Crowder, league sources tell ESPN. No picks in the deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
Timberwolves 2021 pick protected to No. 3, and becomes unprotected in 2022, per sources. Minnesota kept pushing for Russell, who it has wanted since summer free agency and finally got the point guard Gerssson Rosas imagined pairing with KAT. https://t.co/kfDNvsdBHX
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
The Clippers, Knicks and Wizards have agreed to a three-team trade that will land Marcus Morris and Isaiah Thomas with the Clippers, league sources tell ESPN. Jerome Robinson will join the Wizards, Moe Harkless and a 2020 first-round pick to the Knicks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2020
Lakers fans have been calling for a trade that would most likely include Kyle Kuzma for some time now, as he has not lived up to expectations this season. While Kuzma is averaging 43.7% from the field and 33.7% from three in 25 minutes, which are comparable to 2020 All-Star Jayson Tatum, it’s the rest of his numbers that irk the Lakers fan base. He is averaging just 13.1 points, 1.1 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 4.7 pre-game Instagram posts per game (unofficial).
KUZMA WOKE UP FEELING DANGEROUS 😳😳😳😳
1-8 FG 💦💦💦
22 mins 💯💯💯
4 pts 🐐🐐🐐🐐
2 instagram posts 🔥🔥🔥
Plus/Minus -15 🤭🤭🤭 pic.twitter.com/5CbVkjr3EB
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) December 1, 2019
What’s so frustrating about GM Rob Pelinka not making any moves at the deadline is that despite the winning, they have holes. They are a much worse team when James is on the bench, proving that they don’t have the supporting cast (aside from Anthony Davis) to pick up the slack when James isn’t in the game. Thinking back to their January 1st game against the Suns in which they almost blew a 34-point lead once James went to the bench, it shows why Laker Nation has reason to be nervous. They’ve also lost both games to their biggest competition in the West – the Clippers – who have just showed that they want it more, especially in the final minutes of the second matchup.
However, not all hope is lost. They still remain the favorite to sign Darren Collison, who retired this past offseason. Collison, a career 39% shooter from three would help the Lakers in spacing and would surely add to their depth alongside James and Davis.
BREAKING NEWS – *J.R. Smith has entered the chat*
OUT OF LEFT FIELD the Lakers announce they will bring in J.R. Smith for a workout. Smith, currently a free agent, hasn’t played in the NBA since November 2018, so it seems like the only reason they’d be looking to sign him is because he’s played with James before, so he knows his system?? He did win a championship with James in 2016, so maybe they’re hoping some of that mojo transfers over to this season. However, he’s basically just another Rajon Rondo, so do we really need two of these guys? Plus, with All-Star Alex Caruso and KCP as the primary shooting guards, I’m not really sure where Smith would work into the line-up.
The Lakers have problems that still need addressing, but hopefully if they can sign Collison, it’ll tighten up some loose screws on offense that have been evading them this season. Another scorer is essential to their playoff run, and especially if they expect to be able to compete with the highly favored Bucks out of the East in the Finals.
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