The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make any trades ahead of the 2022 NBA trade deadline despite being a roster in dire need of something fresh.
The Lakers reportedly had talked with the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook, but talks fell through because L.A. did not want to include its 2027 first-round pick.
LeBron James and Rob Pelinka, Lakers VP of basketball operations, were supposed to collaborate ahead of the trade deadline according to a report, but Dave McMenamin of ESPN said a source close to LeBron and Anthony Davis refutes that (h/t: Lakers Nation for transcription):
“I am told from a source familiar with LeBron and Anthony’s thinking that quote is ‘totally false.’ There was no conversation between Rob Pelinka, LeBron and Anthony Davis on Thursday. There was no go-ahead of an OK to have inaction at the deadline. And so where things stand right now, that tells me that there is not just problems with what you’re seeing on the court with the Lakers losing six out of eight, but there’s problems off the court between and alignment as Rob Pelinka termed it and his leaders on this team.”
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