The potential for a deadline deal to …

The potential for a deadline deal to shake things up felt inevitable after the Lakers were embarrassed at home by the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. But after a loss to the hapless Blazers one night later, it almost feels like there would be no point. But when Vogel was asked directly if it was possible Westbrook would not be on the team after noon on Thursday, he did not say no. “If there’s ways to improve our team, we’ll try to improve our team,” Vogel said. “Other than that, I got nothing to say about the trade deadline.”