The Los Angeles Lakers are 5-11, which is one of the worst records in the NBA. But there are signs they may be starting to turn things around.
They won three games in a row before losing a hard-fought contest to the Phoenix Suns, 115-105, on Tuesday — and that was without LeBron James, who has missed their last five games with a strained adductor.
James is expected to return on Friday when L.A. takes on the San Antonio Spurs, and the team’s offense has been trending upward over the last few weeks.
Just about everyone agrees, however, that it still needs to make a trade to give it a real chance of being competitive and making some noise in the playoffs.
On Dec. 15, players who were signed as free agents over the summer can be traded, which will open up trade options. The Lakers feel that until then, they can play solid basketball, making a trade more of a supplement than a rescue.
Via Lakers Daily:
“ESPN’s Dave McMenamin revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers believe that they can play .500 basketball before more trade options open up on Dec. 15.
“On Wednesday’s episode of “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, McMenamin explained Los Angeles’ desire to play solid basketball before deciding to make a deal.
“‘What they feel is realistic is playing .500 ball until Dec. 15 when deals start to potentially open around the league because that’s when contracts that were signed this past summer can be traded,’ McMenamin said. ‘And then maybe you can finally make this mythical draft-pick trade that’s been talked about for months and months and months sometime in late December to mid-January and have that be an additional thrust to the type of basketball you’ve already been doing, you’ve already established.'”
Although the Lakers have been biding their time in terms of waiting to take any trade offers seriously, there has been no shortage of trade rumors lately.
