Despite LeBron James exerting more pressure on the Los Angeles Lakers front office to make a swing after his passive-aggressive comment on their roster construction, a significant trade is unlikely.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the most the Lakers could do is trade one of their two first-round draft capital.
“The sense around the league, when talking to rival scouts and front-office personnel, is that standing pat or making a half-measure trade (likely one or two second-round picks) is more likely than the Lakers going all-in and trading both of their future first-round picks that can be moved. That’s dependent, of course, on the available players, asking prices and the team’s performance through the deadline,” Buha reported on January 21.
Buha added the Lakers remain active on the trade market, but they are awaiting Jarred Vanderbilt‘s return before making any move. Vanderbilt has made some progress in his recovery, including a G League assignment to practice with the South Bay Lakers to ramp it up.
The Lakers Are Running Out of Time
However, Buha wondered if the Lakers still have time to evaluate their current roster when Vanderbilt returns because there are just over two weeks remaining until the February 6 trade deadline.
The Lakers have been reluctant to surrender their first-round draft capital unless “that leads to sustainable Lakers excellence,” Lakers vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka told reporters in September 2024.
“We would also use one pick to make a marginal upgrade if we felt that was the right thing to do,” he added.
The asking price for a top-tier role player such as Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson alone is two first-round picks or equivalent, New York Post’s Brian Lewis reported. They also have no business joining the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes unless they include Austin Reaves in a multiple-player-trade package that will gut their depth or straight swap either James or Anthony Davis.
LeBron James: We Don’t Have Room For Much Error’
James took a jab at the Lakers front office following their 116-102 loss to their crosstown rivals Clippers in their new home arena Intuit Dome on January 19.
Asked if there are ways internally how to make the margin for error smaller, James replied with a blunt answer.
“Nah. That’s how our team is constructed,” James told reporters. “We don’t have room for error — for much error.”
James, who led six Lakers in double figures, added that they don’t have a choice but to play close to perfect basketball to win.
“And we know the game is never perfect,” James continued. “It’s never gonna be a 48-minute perfect basketball game.
“But we can’t combat it on multiple possessions in a row or if we’re turning the ball over, we have to do a better job of that. If we’re making aggressive turnovers plays where we’re trying to make the right play to our teammates, but it’s some of the careless ones. Defensively, we can’t have breakdowns. If our coaching staff has a game plan for us, we can’t break down on the game plan.”
Having a top-13 offense and a bottom-seven defense isn’t a recipe for a playoff success. But the Lakers do not have the flexibility and a deep war chest of draft capital to make significant changes unless they tear down the roster and go full rebuild.
Unless they make the hard choice, the Lakers are stuck with a roster led by two aging stars James and Davis surrounded by a mediocre supporting cast.
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