NBA rumors: Lakers won't be in trade mix for Jimmy Butler, 2 other stars
Yesterday at 01:32 PM
On Sunday evening, LeBron James returned to the lineup after a week-plus long absence and performed well in the Los Angeles Lakers’ dominant win over the Memphis Grizzlies at home. All things considered, it may have been the most impressive game of the season to date for the Lakers, considering how hot the Grizzlies were coming into the game.
Still, that hasn’t stopped there from being rampant trade speculation surrounding Los Angeles as they look to maximize however much greatness LeBron James still has left in the tank.
Recently, more light was shed on the Lakers’ thoughts regarding the trade market by Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to be one of the more active buyers leading into the Feb. 6 trade deadline,” reported Buha.
However, some of the more marquee names that figure to be on the market will likely not be candidates for Los Angeles.
“The Lakers are not anticipated to be heavily in the mix for Miami's Jimmy Butler, New Orleans' Brandon Ingram or Chicago's Zach LaVine,” reported Buha.
However, there were some names mentioned in the report that do seem to be more realistic targets for the Lakers.
“Other names that have come up in talks with team and league personnel over the past few weeks include Utah's Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton, Toronto's Bruce Brown Jr., Portland's Jerami Grant and Robert Williams III and Washington's Kyle Kuzma,” reported Buha.
How much can the Lakers improve?
At the current juncture, the Lakers profile as a team with a good amount of offensive talent but without much to offer on defense outside of Anthony Davis.
Head coach JJ Redick has attempted to address this issue by removing D’Angelo Russell from the starting lineup in an effort to avert the defensive disaster that was a Russell-Austin Reaves backcourt, but that still hasn’t stopped Los Angeles from cratering to the bottom third of the league in defensive rating thus far this season.
This being the case, names like Kessler or Grant might make more sense for Los Angeles, as those players are more defensive-minded than some of the other players mentioned in the report.
However, it’s still unclear just how committed Rob Pelinka and company truly are to maximizing this current roster at the expense of future assets.
In any case, the Lakers will next take the floor on Thursday evening on the road vs the Sacramento Kings.
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