Last year the Los Angeles Lakers were a .500 team that consistently hovered around 8th place in the Western Conference. The team’s previous coach, Darvin Ham, received a lot of blame for that.
So how is L.A. faring this season under new head coach J.J. Redick? They are 13-11 and sit 8th in the Western Conference.
Because of how disappointing they’ve been thus far, understandably, the Lakers are looking to make some changes ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline.
Dec. 15 marks the first day that teams can trade recently-signed players.
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Ahead of that big date, Los Angeles seems to be angling to make a big move.
“The Lakers are one of the most active teams in early trade discussions around the NBA. Los Angeles has dangled the expiring contracts of D’Angelo Russell and Jalen Hood-Schifino in exploratory talks. Keep an eye on Los Angeles between now and February’s deadline making moves,” Evan Sidery of Forbes wrote last week.
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Russell, a former All-Star, has seen his role evolve this season. Redick recently moved him to the bench, opting for him to lead the second unit instead of starting alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The shift has been beneficial for the team, which has gone 7-3 since the change, as well as for Russell himself. Coming off the bench, he’s averaging 11.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Hood-Schifino has struggled to find minutes. After recovering from back surgery that ended his rookie campaign, the 21-year-old has only played one minute of NBA action this season and spent some time in the G League. In his lone G League appearance, he logged eight points, one rebound, and one assist in 13 minutes.
Recently, Jovan Buha of The Athletic noted that there are a few teams that might be interested in serving as trade partners for L.A.
“Utah, Toronto, Brooklyn, Chicago—although Chicago and LA have a weird relationship. … Washington is another one, and maybe Charlotte. … Probably, you could throw Portland in there,” he said.
One way or another, the next few weeks promise to be interesting. They’ll really paint a picture of where the Lakers are going as a franchise during what remains of James’ career.
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.
