Rumors about the Lakers say that they “have not responded to” LeBron James’ “maneuvers” about trade help.
The LA Lakers and LeBron James had a good time at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The purple and gold team won 113–105.
James called MSG his “favorite playground” on Instagram, even though he was on the other team. He seemed excited to play in New York City again.
Fans of the NBA on social media think that LeBron might be teasing about a trade to the Knicks. Some people believe that King James might go to New York after his time with the Lakers if a trade isn’t possible.
However, after the first 24 hours of NBA arbitration, the Los Angeles Lakers made big improvements to their team around LeBron James as well as Anthony Davis. This is not an instant “winners and losers” list, but it is a good start.
Since the trade deadline in February, Rob Pelinka’s front office has been looking for cheap, productive players who fit the system well and can make an impact on games in a variety of ways.
Los Angeles sent Washington three second-round picks in exchange for Rui Hachimura. The Gonzaga product had good postseason play, which helped the Lakers make it to the Western League finals.
League sources told Yahoo Sports that Hachimura signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the team on Friday.
Sources say that Hachimura wanted an average annual value of $15 million when he was in talks with the Wizards about a new deal last offseason.
They must have known that number of dollars before they signed him in January, so it’s not a surprise that his salary has gone above that range since Hachimura ran in the playoffs.
The three-team trade that sent Russell Westbrook with Utah and got the Lakers D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt was a good ending to their biggest deal, which was also their biggest failure.
Vanderbilt is only owed $4.6 million for the current season, which is one of the best deals in the NBA even though the Kentucky product isn’t a real threat to score.
The 2023–24 NBA season of the Los Angeles Lakers has had its ups and downs. There have been a lot of ups and downs this year, and no fun ones.
The Lakers turned down Beasley’s $16.5 million player alternative to 2023–24, but league sources confirmed on Yahoo Sports that Pelinka likes the shooting wing.
There were talks on Friday evening regarding Beasley possibly coming back to the Lakers. It’s not like the Lakers are going after the big-name players that were popular in the past.
Russ’s return to Los Angeles became a reality on Saturday when the Lakers reportedly agreed to a $37 million, two-year deal with the 27-year-old guard
The Lakers haven’t been as consistent as they were after making it to the Western Area Finals last year. They’ve looked like a Western Conference powerhouse at times and a bad team at others.
Because of this, a lot of people think the team will be very busy at the trade deadline in a few weeks.
They know they have to do everything they can to put together the best team possible in LeBron James as well as Anthony Davis within the mix.
James played it cool when asked what moves the Lakers might be able to make at the trade deadline. He made it clear again that he only plays or lets the front desk do the work.
The Lakers may make a big move at the trade deadline to get a third-star player, or they may just try to improve their team in small ways. There is no right or wrong answer, but the team needs to do a thing to get better.
The Lakers know that there is a very thin line between winning and losing in the NBA. They’re ready to fix the fact that they haven’t been at their highest level this season.
Getting extra help will also make things different and improve this team’s chances of winning the championship.
For now, fans should give Lakers owner Rob Pelinka the benefit of the doubt. They will need to wait.