Getty D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
There’s no denying that the Los Angeles Lakers got younger and more talented at the February 9 trade deadline.
But that didn’t stop the rumor mill from linking John Wall with the Lakers after he was bought out by the Houston Rockets. However, according to Sports Illustrated’s Noah Camras, the Lakers are unlikely to pursue Wall due to the recent addition of D’Angelo Russell.
JOHN WALL IS BACK
“The Lakers have been linked to Wall ever since they traded for Russell Westbrook. Now that they finally got the aging Westbrook off their team, would they really want to add another aging veteran past his prime in Wall? The answer is probably not…Wall wouldn’t help the Lakers more than some other candidates on the market, however, so I see the deal as highly unlikely,” Camras wrote.
Wall is certainly still capable of providing impact off the bench and could be a valuable guard addition to a contending team in need of additional ball-handling, yet, that is probably not the Lakers, who also allow their forwards to initiate play.
Stephen A. Smith Believes Lakers Could be Champions
According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who was speaking during a February 16 episode of First Take, the Lakers have acquired enough talent to be considered a potential Western Conference Finals team or even outside championship contenders.
.@stephenasmith says there’s a possibility the Lakers could be title contenders 👀
“I like D’Angelo Russell on the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 17 points, 45% shooting. I like Malik Beasley on the Los Angeles Lakers. I like this kid Vanderbilt on the Los Angeles Lakers. They’ve improved their shooting. They’ve been able to spread the floor. They’ve improved their defensive prowess.
If these guys are healthy, the way the West has looked, I can’t summarily dismiss the possibility that the Los Angeles Lakers could make some noise and, dare I say, potentially advance to a conference finals. The Lakers, healthy, are going to the semifinals,” Smith said.
It will be interesting to see if the Lakers can climb into the top half of the conference standings in the final stretch of the regular season or whether they will have to settle for attempting to qualify for the playoffs via the play-in tournament.
Anthony Davis Expected to Remain With Lakers
Currently, there are multiple rumors circulating that state Anthony Davis is unhappy with the Los Angeles Lakers; however, it would appear that those rumors are wide of the mark. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Davis is still ‘100 percent’ on board with the purple and gold.
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“While I admit there might be something amiss there, I don’t think Anthony Davis wants to not be a Laker…My understanding is he still is 100 percent bought in on that,” Windhorst said.
When healthy, Davis has been sensational this season, providing the Lakers with 26 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game on 56.2% shooting from the field. As such, will likely be a significant part of any success the Lakers have between now and the end of their season – which they likely hope will be deep into the playoffs – still, Davis will need to remain healthy in order to help his team achieve their ultimate goal.