Getty Darvin Ham, Los Angeles Lakers
After falling flat out of the gates to begin the new season, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in deep waters.
Winning just two of their first ten games, it’s clear that the current roster is struggling to remain competitive – a far cry from what many had expected from this team heading into the season. However, despite their slow start to the season, it would appear that hopes of a trade to get things back on track are fading fast. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Lakers could ‘resit’ trading away their future draft picks if they continue losing games at their current rate.
Shams says the Lakers will resist trading first-round picks if the season continues to go down this path.
“I’m told that the organization will be prudent with their two first-round picks available that they have for the remainder of the decade, in 2027 and 2029. I don’t believe the Lakers are in a position right now, to mortgage their future with those two available picks. So, realizing that this team is probably not going to be a championship contender, might not even be a shoo-in for the playoffs, I mean the way that this season is going.
They’re probably looking at marginal changes around the edges, at best. And that means trying to make deals without putting in first-round picks. Because, as of right now, the organization seems to be moving in a direction where they’re going to resist moving first-round picks if the season continues to go down this path,” Charania said on November 8.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, their future draft picks are their best trade assets right now. So, if they’re genuinely steadfast in retaining those future assets, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for them to find a deal that could help them turn this season around.
Anthony Davis Sounds Off on Lakers’ Slow Start
The downside to having multiple elite players is that when things aren’t going your way, it’s hard to keep everybody happy. After all, Anthony Davis joined the Lakers to contend for championships, as did LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.
Speaking to the media on November 7, following the Lakers’ 139-116 loss to the Utah Jazz, Davis shared his thoughts on the team’s current situation, noting how the slow start has been difficult to stomach.
“Honestly, it sucks. We don’t want to be 2-8 at all. It sucks, for sure. You have to look at it big picture. It’s been 10 games but still fairly early in the season — s**t, 2-8 is a hard pill for me to swallow…Obviously, it can change around. I think New Orleans was 1-12 or something last year, come back and go on a run. We’ve got to put it together. Offense has found its rhythm. It seems like we’ve lost all our defensive intensity. And that’s what’s killing us,” Davis said.
Still, the Lakers have clear issues they need to address, from finding some additional perimeter scoring to adding some depth to their frontcourt rotation, and until they figure those problems out, they could very well continue their slide into obscurity.
Lakers Rule Out Kyrie Irving
One player who has found himself linked with a move to Los Angeles in recent months is mercurial guard, Kyrie Irving, with both the Lakers and Brooklyn Nets rumored to have held discussions over a potential trade during the off-season.
However, according to a November 7 article by Sam Amick of The Athletic, it would appear that the Lakers have ruled out acquiring the guard, both now and next summer when Irving would be an unrestricted free agent.
The Lakers have ‘significant concerns’ about the prospect of adding Kyrie Irving at any price, per @sam_amick
“It’s quite clear that Laker Land is a highly unlikely, if not impossible, landing spot.”
(Via t.co/ZsA9RlhfQV)
“Sources say the Lakers have significant concerns about the prospect of adding Irving at any price and have not been focused on that scenario all season long. It’s quite clear that Laker Land is a highly unlikely, if not impossible, landing spot,” Amick wrote.
The fact of the matter is, if the Lakers aren’t going to include any future draft picks into trade negotiations, they can kiss goodbye to any hopes of bringing a new star talent to the Golden Coast this season, and that could mean things get a lot worse before they start to get better.
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Lakers Likely to ‘Resist’ Trading Future Draft Assets: Report