The Los Angeles Lakers have gone 11-6 in their last 17 games. While that doesn’t seem great, it is a notable improvement from the 2-10 beginning of the season that fans were forced to contend with.
Unfortunately, just as L.A. looked to be gaining steam, Anthony Davis got hurt again. The 29-year-old’s foot injury will keep him out of action for at least a month, and that will have massive ramifications for where the front office goes from here.
Heading into this week, the Lakers were considered very much a player to make a big trade. There was chatter of a deal with the Houston Rockets. The Detroit Pistons were mentioned. A reunion with Kyle Kuzma was touched upon.
There were definitely some solid options available.
But now with Davis gone? It appears that L.A. is now no longer interested in making something massive happen.
“Losing Anthony Davis indefinitely to a foot injury, suffered in Friday’s win over Denver, means that the Lakers’ playoff hopes might well be snuffed out already since they are 12-16 in the loaded West even with Davis playing as well as he ever has, averaging 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game on while shooting a robust 59.3% from the field,” NBA insider Marc Stein reported.
“Passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s All-Time leading scorer thus might be the only thing LeBron James, currently 766 points away from the top spot, has left to play for in his 20th season.”
Stein then put it even more bluntly.
“The trade completion in Lakerland has realistically changed this weekend,” he wrote.
LeBron James has made it no secret who he wants the front office to go out and get.
But with Davis out, there is really no point.
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 19, 2022
This squad isn’t competing for a title any time soon, so why mortgage what is left of the future?
The real question now is whether the Lakers will start trying to blow things up. They have gone from buyers to sellers in this market in a hurry, and it will be fascinating to see what that ends up looking like.
Whatever decisions Rob Pelinka and Co. make over the next month will have massive consequences for the franchise for many years to come.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
