As the Los Angeles Lakers struggle with a 2-8 record and the worst offensive rating in the NBA, fans are growing more uneasy.
They want a trade to happen, one way or another, to make the Lakers more competitive.
But the team appears to be patient, as it likely wants to wait on the right deal that would clearly move the needle, rather than making a deal for the sake of making a deal.
Some NBA executives seem to concur.
Via Lakers Daily:
“Howard Beck reported on ‘The Crossover NBA Show’ that other executives around the league believe the Lakers are waiting for a ‘bigger piece to come loose’ to deal (Russell) Westbrook.
“Beck also revealed that the Lakers aren’t expected to make a deal with the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving or the Indiana Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.
“‘I will add one thing without going into all the detail, but I was canvassing a bunch of front office folks last week when I was workshopping my idea of “Can the Nets tear down now? Should they just tear down now? What could they reasonably get for Kevin Durant? Could they get anything for Kyrie Irving? Could they get anything at all for Ben Simmons?”‘ said Beck. ‘And in those discussions, when I brought up the Lakers, the push back I was getting was they’re waiting for a specific player. That they’re not doing the Pacer deal, that they won’t do the Kyrie deal now that we for sure thought they would do a couple months ago, is an indication that the Lakers are waiting for a bigger piece to come loose that they think they can trade Westbrook and the two future firsts for.'”
Waiting for the right deal would seem to be prudent for the Lakers, as Westbrook is their biggest, and perhaps their only, real trade chip.
What may complicate matters is that he has been playing very well since he was moved to the bench. If that continues, would the team still be open to moving him? Would that even be a good idea?
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