Ahead of this season's trade deadline, I wrote about six particular teams to keep a close eye on, one of them being the Lakers. Difficult as it was going to be for the Lakers to pull something off, it didn't stop them from being linked to a number of players ahead of the trade deadline, and a recent loss to the Bucks was yet another reminder that there's a lot of work to be done for Los Angeles to even make the playoffs this season, let alone compete for a title.
Turns out there wasn't a move to be made.
The Lakers were one of the eight teams that didn't make a deal at the trade deadline, leaving them with limited options to improve their roster the rest of the way.
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The Lakers deals that didn't happen at the trade deadline
The Lakers were mentioned in a few rumors on the day of the trade deadline.
One that made the rounds early was the framework of a three-team deal between the Lakers, Knicks and Raptors that would've brought Cam Reddish and Alec Burks to Los Angeles. According to Bill Oram of The Athletic, the Lakers had "substantive conversations" with both the Knicks and Raptors, but it reportedly fell apart over draft picks.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sources: The Lakers, Knicks and Raptors have discussed a 3-team trade.<br><br>Lakers get Cam Reddish and Alec Burks.<br><br>Knicks get Goran Dragic and draft picks.<br><br>Raptors get Talen Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel.<br><br>There’s also a chance Kendrick Nunn is added to the trade as talks continue</p>— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeAScotto/status/1491675997204361216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Oram adds that the Lakers also "kicked the tires" on bringing back Dennis Schroder, who was eventually traded from the Celtics to the Rockets. (More on him in a minute.) Last but not least, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that the Rockets offered John Wall for Russell Westbrook, but the Lakers weren't willing to include a first-round pick.
The Lakers faced an uphill battle at making a deal at the trade deadline. Of the 15 players on their roster, eight are on one-year, minimum deals. LeBron James and Anthony Davis were almost certainly off-limits for what should be obvious reasons, and Westbrook's contract likely scared away a lot of teams. That left the Lakers' best offer including some combination of Talen Horton-Tucker, Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson and Kendrick Nunn, who has yet to play in a game this season.
So yeah, not a huge surprise that the Lakers weren't able to make a move at the trade deadline that completely changes their outlook this season.
Lakers options on the buyout market
Next up for the Lakers? The buyout market.
Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins burst out laughing when told the Lakers made no trade deadline moves and were focusing on the buyout market 🤣pic.twitter.com/x2FuxAviJn
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) February 10, 2022
Time will tell who actually becomes available, but it appears as though the Spurs will eventually reach an agreement with Goran Dragic. There's been no mention of Schroder potentially being bought out by the Rockets yet, but it wouldn't be all that surprising if it happens considering Houston is at the bottom of the Western Conference standings and Schroder is a veteran on an expiring deal who could help a contender.
If Schroder is bought out, it sounds like the Lakers might be interested in a reunion.
"While there remains some division internally among the Lakers’ decision-makers regarding Schröder after his uncomfortable departure last summer, there is interest in bringing him back as a backup point guard, according to league sources," The Athletic's Jovan Buha writes.
A few other candidates mentioned by The Athletic's John Hollinger at the guard position: John Wall, Gary Harris, Eric Bledsoe, Cory Joseph and Tomas Satoransky.
Those are the types of players the Lakers could be in the running for in the buyout market.
What are the Lakers' playoff odds?
So where does this leave the Lakers?
Entering their matchup with the Warriors on Saturday, the Lakers sit in ninth place in the Western Conference standings with a 26-30 record. According to Tankathon, they have the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA based on the combined winning percentage of their opponents.
As a reminder, the top six seeds in each conference make the playoffs. The next four teams then duke it out in the Play-In tournament to determine the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds.
Right now, FiveThirtyEight's model projects the Lakers to finish the season in the ninth spot in the Western Conference with a 37-45 record and gives them a 27 percent chance of making the playoffs. ESPN's Basketball Power Index paints an almost identical picture, projecting the Lakers to finish with a 37-45 record and giving them a 29.4 percent chance of making the playoffs.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook contract details
James agreed to a two-year, $85 million extension in 2020, keeping him under contract through the 2022-23 season.
| 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
| LeBron James | $41,180,544 | $44,474,988 |
Davis signed a five-year, $190 million extension in 2020. He has a $43.2 million player option in his contract for 2024-25.
| 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | |
| Anthony Davis | $35,361,360 | $37,980,720 | $40,600,080 | $43,219,440 (PO) |
Westbrook signed a five-year, $205 million extension with the Thunder in 2017. He has a $47.1 million player option in his contract for 2022-23.
| 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
| Russell Westbrook | $44,211,146 | $47,063,478 (PO) |
