Getty Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives past Kyrie Irving #11 of the Dallas Mavericks.
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom could only shake his head upon learning what keeping Dejounte Murray from wearing the purple and gold jersey.
“SMH (shake my head),” Odom posted on X (formerly Twitter) quoting a report of the Lakers’ unwillingness to include Austin Reaves in the potential Murray deal.
Odom won two championships with the Lakers in 200 and 2010.
The Lakers wanted to keep Reaves, a homegrown player that they drafted and a budding star.
“I can’t imagine a better role player because [Reaves] has the trust of those two guys [James and Davis],” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said on the January 8 episode “The Lowe Post” podcast. “He has the confidence of those two guys. He’s been a proven playoff performer. He has the trust and the kind support of the Buss family — the brothers who identified him in the draft process and Governor Jeanie. That’s a point of pride for her to have someone like Austin Reeves who was a homegrown Laker organization product [and] become a star.”
Instead of focusing on big names like Murray and Zach LaVine, the Lakers plan to do minor trades for backcourt help, McMenamin reported on ESPN Sports Center on January 17.
McMenamin named Washington Wizards’ Tyus Jones and Utah Jazz’s Collin Sexton as the Lakers targets.
LeBron James Tunes out Trade Noise
Lakers superstar LeBron James was in no mood to discuss the trade rumor surrounding the Lakers after booking their second straight win, and fourth over their last six games.
“I don’t play fantasy basketball. What I do is focus on the guys that are here and in this uniform, and show up to work every day,” James told reporters after they routed the Mavericks 127-110 on January 17. “It’s too disrespectful to be thinking about what we need or what we don’t have. I don’t do that to my teammates.”
“We’ve been putting in the work and that’s what we got to continue to do. We like the way we’ve been playing the last couple of games. We got to continue that Friday versus Brooklyn.”
The Lakers have a chance to go over .500 with an easier schedule to wind up their four-game homestand. After the Nets, they will have the lowly Portland Trail Blazers (11-29) on Sunday, January 21, before a big showdown against intra-city rival LA Clippers on the 23rd.
LeBron’s Son Bronny James Is on Multiple Teams’ Draft Board
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, multiple NBA teams have shown interest in drafting James’ son, Bronny, in June.
“When I talked to people around the league, [Bronny] is on the draft boards of multiple teams and it is curious what if he gets drafted somewhere not in LA? LeBron James does have a player option this summer,” Charania said on “Run It Back” on FanDuel TV on January 18.
James repeatedly said in the past he wanted to play with his son before he retires.
The 39-year-old Lakers superstar has a $51 million player option which he can opt out to join where his son plays next season.