LeBron James and Anthony Davis reportedly believe the Lakers should add another elite player to the roster, with Donovan Mitchell, Dejounte Murray and Zach Lavine seemingly on the trade block
Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis have reportedly expressed a desire to see their team add another premier talent to the roster.
Due to their team’s postseason struggles, James and Davis have seemingly begun to question if the Lakers currently have the pieces in place to win a championship. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the duo would like to see their team “prove their desire to win this week by going all-in for another elite player,” with Donovan Mitchell, Dejounte Murray and Zach Lavine just some of the names likely to be on the trade block.
Over the last handful of seasons, president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka has not been shy when it comes to trading draft capital in exchange for big names. Back in 2019, the Lakers dealt three first-round draft picks to the New Orleans Pelicans for Davis. Since then, Los Angeles has parted with three additional first-round selections in trades for Dennis Schroder in 2020, Russell Westbrook in 2021 and D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in 2023.
Yet the all-in approach has hardly translated to consistently strong results. In the four seasons since advancing to the 2020 NBA Finals, the Lakers have advanced past the first round of the playoffs only once. Their most recent defeat in the opening round came against the Denver Nuggets in five games back in April.
The Lakers possess three tradeable first-rounders to work with, including the No. 17 overall pick in this year’s draft, as well as future selections in 2029 and 2031. But the team’s top brass have shown little desire to depart with these picks, especially in deals that would only net them short-term solutions.
While speaking during the introductory press conference of newly hired head coach JJ Redick, Pelinka asserted that the Lakers would remain diligent while searching for an ideal trade that could improve their roster.
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“In this (CBA) system … some of the trades are more difficult, especially if you have a second-apron team (negotiating with) a first-apron team,” he said. “There’s a chance we’ll be in the first apron. The trades are less prevalent than they used to be.
“So will we look for trades that help us become a better team? Absolutely. Are those trades – do they have the same probability that they had under the old system? No, it is a different system. So we’ve got to be mindful and thoughtful around that.
“If the perfect trade comes along, and we can use picks to make it and win a championship, yeah, we’ll do it. Is that trade going to be there? I don’t know. It’s harder in this system to find perfect trades.”
Redick expressed a similar sentiment, adding the Lakers would be looking to build a well-rounded team as opposed to acquiring just one star. “If you look at the NBA right now, the group matters more than ever,” he said.
“You certainly need the stars, but the group matters more than ever. You need six, seven, eight guys, who can play minutes deep into the playoffs. The Boston Celtics, the Dallas Mavericks, the Pacers, the Timberwolves. It wasn’t about the individual. It was about the group.”
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