Getty Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Los Angeles Lakers can’t be accused of not being ambitious enough. The team has been trying to trade Russell Westbrook dating back to last season but hasn’t found a deal they like yet. They ended up holding onto him this season in the hopes that a better trade would materialize.
That hasn’t been the case and one deal the Lakers were hoping could happen likely won’t. According to The Atheltic’s Sam Amick, Los Angeles was hoping there would be a way to land Oklahoma City Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the event that the team decided to tank.
“My mind goes to, even if it’s unlikely at this point, the star player trade … months ago there was this kind of ‘pie in the sky’ sense from the Lakers of ‘Well, if Oklahoma City completely tanks, let’s go get Shai.’ Like, I heard Shai’s name coming out of that Lakers camp. But it’s just a dream,” Amick said on the “Real Ones” podcast.
“Don’t get too excited. It’s not happening. I wrote something about it a couple of weeks ago and, boy, did I hear about it from the Thunder.”
Why Would Lakers Think They Could Get SGA?
This season has been a breakout one for Gilgeous-Alexander. The 24-year-old guard is averaging 31.3 points a game, which is third in the NBA. He’s been a solid player for a few years but he’s developing into a superstar now. Considering his age and ascending game, there’s no way the Thunder would want to trade him right now unless they think his season is fool’s gold.
Prior to Gilgeous-Alexander exploding this season, it’s understandable why the Lakers would’ve thought they could get him. The Thunder are in a perpetual state of rebuilding and are perhaps the only team where Westbrook might have made sense. With Victor Wembanyama heading to the draft after the season, this would be one of the best seasons to tank and try to get the top pick. The Lakers and Thunder have worked out a trade in recent years so there’s a rapport between the front offices.
Oklahoma City loves accumulating draft picks so getting the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 first-round picks could’ve been appealing. Now that they know Gilgeous-Alexander is a star, they’re going to want to keep him around for a long time.
Lakers Should Go All-out on This Season
It was understandable why the Lakers were apprehensive to sell the farm before the season. The team was bad last year and Anthony Davis hasn’t looked like himself in a couple of seasons. While the season started off poorly, the Lakers are on a role right now. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and Davis has been playing out of his mind. He looks even better than he did during the 2020 championship run.
LeBron James isn’t getting any young and the Lakers would be wise to take advantage of the fact that he’s still playing at a high level. LeBron and Davis are good enough to carry the team in the playoffs if they just had a couple more pieces that fit better. The Lakers bought some time with the recent run but they’ll have to make a deal soon if they want to sustain the success.