The Los Angeles Lakers came out on the other side of the 2022 NBA trade deadline looking the exact same way as they entered it. The 26-30 Lakers were unable to complete a trade, which will put even more of a damper on what has been a very disappointing season for the purple and gold.
This does not look like a team that will be vying for a championship this season, as they are barely holding onto a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament as the ninth seed in the Western Conference. As long as LeBron James is on the roster and healthy, this team will have a chance to win some games, but it’s looking like another lost season for King James in LA.
This could be the second time in four seasons that James misses the playoffs with the Lakers. They won the title in the Orlando Bubble in 2020, but no one could have predicted things would fall apart this quickly after.
One of the biggest reasons for the team’s dysfunction this season was the acquisition of Russell Westbrook. Los Angeles traded Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to land Westbrook.
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Rob Pelinka was going all in, as that was all the assets Los Angeles had to offer. They were essentially locking themselves into this roster hoping it would be enough to contend for a title and it looks like they are going to come up woefully short.
There were some rumors leading up to the deadline that the Los Angeles Lakers had an interest in moving Westbrook. Very few teams in the NBA could take him on, but one team emerged as a potential trade candidate; the Houston Rockets.
LATEST NBA NEWS & BUYOUT RUMORS: Key Takeaways From Wild NBA Trade Deadline Action
But, just how far along did talks get between the two teams? Russell Westbrook was traded by the Rockets to the Wizards before the 2020-21 season in exchange for John Wall. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, they could have been swapped for each other again had the Rockets offer been accepted.
Houston hasn’t been playing Wall this season, as the sides agreed he would remain sidelined until they found a new team for him to play for. The Rockets were adamant that if they didn’t receive the 2027 first-round pick from the Lakers, there was no deal to be made.
LATEST NBA NEWS & BUYOUT RUMORS: Key Takeaways From Wild NBA Trade Deadline Action
Unwilling to include that first-round pick, there was no deal to be made with the Houston Rockets, or, likely any team in the NBA. No team is taking on Russell Westbrook, given his decline in production, without being compensated for it.
Frank Vogel will just have to find lineup combinations with what he has to work with. He didn’t put this roster together, but he is likely on the hottest head coach seat in the NBA as the Los Angeles Lakers will be lucky to even qualify for one of the eight playoff spots in the Western Conference.
