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Two seasons ago, the Los Angeles Lakers’ last game before the trade deadline looked like a referendum on the state of the franchise – a 42-point loss to the Indiana Pacers as rumors swirled. Tuesday’s Route 128-111 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans was not this for the Lakers, they are the reigning NBA champions after all, but the resulting angst is eerily reminiscent.
“You have to be realistic,” said Kyle Kuzma afterward, left to be the player’s spokesperson by default with LeBron James and Anthony Davis both due to injuries. “It’s a challenge. But it’s not nothing that we can’t overcome.”
The Pelicans’ game turned ugly, with the Lakers trailing up to 30 points – which coincided with how many points they were outscored in the paint (62-32) – as they were without their best defenseman at Davis . and their starting center, Marc Gasol, who missed his ninth straight game as he ramped up after a stint in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
When the 2019 Lakers hit rock bottom in Indiana, the tension arose over the team’s chase against Davis, with the young collection of budding LA stars wondering if the sun was setting early in their careers in the South. from California.
These Lakers are not in the same situation. Some of those young players from two years ago were on the other side of things on Tuesday, with Brandon Ingram leading all scorers with 36 points on a 14-for-21 shot and Josh Hart scoring 15 rebounds, five assists and five. interceptions even if he fired. only 1 in 9. (Their angst over the February 2019 deadline was not unfounded – Davis’ trade with the Pelicans took place four months later).
No, the Lakers aren’t looking to make any big changes to land a second star to pair with James this time around. They have their franchise stalwarts, even though one is in a walking boot and the other hasn’t played since Valentine’s Day.
However, there is still pressure to improve around the margins and increase their championship chances in the playoffs. For much of the season, it seemed to involve scouring the buyout market for one or two impact veterans, much like LA added Markieff Morris last year, and he became a staple during their time. racing in the bubble.
But now, on a three-game losing streak, bringing the Lakers’ record to 7-10 since Davis was injured and fell to 4th in the Western Conference standings – just 2.5 games down from 6th Portland. – those plans could be adjusted.
“I think it will definitely have an impact on our state of mind at the trade deadline,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said at the weekend, when asked about the state of his squad.
One name mentioned as a potential candidate to be moved is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The shooting guard was awarded a three-year, $ 40 million contract after a playoff series in which he averaged 10.7 points out of 37.8 percent at a distance of 3 points while being one of the Lakers’ most trusted perimeter defenders, but he saw his 3 percentage point drop this season from 52.9% in December to 46.0% in January to 32.1% in February, to drop to 37.5% this month ahead of Tuesday’s 1 for 7 shoot night. Asked where he is, he was frank.
“I don’t know who’s all in the business discourse, I haven’t really paid attention to it or even heard anything,” he said. “It was the first time I had heard of it. But I don’t know. … Dude, I feel like the energy is good, I don’t think anybody cares about a trade unless he keeps it personal. “
The Lakers certainly keep things personal. While it has become fashionable for some league executives to convey commercial intentions to the media as a sort of trial ball to gauge a player’s worth, hardly any of the rumors you’ll read this week come from from the Lakers vice president of basketball operations. and the office of General Manager Rob Pelinka in El Segundo, California.
This is another way things are different than two years ago, when the Lakers were complicit in the chaos that occurred before the deadline with the information they were passing on.
No, it’s not the Lakers’ fault that they only had a 71-day offseason, and the quick turnaround could have contributed to Davis’s right leg injuries. They had no control over Solomon Hill diving on James’ ankle in an attempt to steal the ball. They had no way of knowing their favorite status would be so fleeting with a former MVP of James Harden forcing his way out of Houston to join a few other offensive maestros in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets, catapulting the odds of Brooklyn. as contenders. They couldn’t pick where on the schedule James would come out, hitting in a torturous eight-game 12-day spell.
This is the reality though. That’s where it is, and that’s why this moment, less than 48 hours before Thursday’s trade deadline, has the same feeling for the Lakers as it did two days before the date. limit two years ago.
There is a lot at stake.
“I expect us to win games with this group, and I believe in the group we have,” said Vogel. “If nothing happens [at the trade deadline], we’re going to win games and we will find a way to win games during that time, and that will benefit us in the long run. I don’t know if we will see any changes or not. … Most trade deadlines are a lot of talk that doesn’t get anywhere, and that’s what I expect as a coach. “
For Kuzma, one of the only leftovers, along with Alex Caruso, to stay with this young core a few years ago, there may have been lessons learned.
No matter what happens on the trade deadline, there is work to be done.
“I think we just have to look at the drawing board, keep trusting each other, try to play for each other on both sides of the ball,” Kuzma said. “I think if we can do that, we give ourselves a chance every night.
“That’s the challenge we face. I just have to tie it up and go.”
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