‘Screws being turned’: LA’s new trade reality amid NBA truth… but a roadblock stands in its way

Other teams in the league – in the West specifically – have simultaneously gotten worse to further propel the Lakers in the standings.

And James gave his most blatant public hint yet in an interview with The Athletic he’d like to see the Lakers make a move prior to the February 10 trade deadline despite insisting it’s not his job to worry about front office handlings.

Of course, the Lakers’ first-round draft pick this year is tied to the New Orleans Pelicans, and they only have two future first rounders (2027 and 2029) they can move and not much else on the roster by the way of trade value with so much salary tied to James, Davis and Russell Westbrook.

But are the Lakers actually more capable of a playoff run than they’ve been given credit? And if so, does that mean they mightn’t necessarily need to go all in and mortgage their future in a deal? That they don’t need to look for this miracle, home run trade that’ll push them back into the championship frame?

“I think what he’s (James) saying is: ‘Look at what we’ve been able to do. No AD (Davis), I’ve been in and out of the line-up, other guys have been hurt. It doesn’t take much’,” Locked On Lakers’ Brian Kamenetzky said of James’ messaging.

“If that becomes the reality for the Lakers … because so much of the conversation has been that they need so much to be genuinely competitive and have a chance to get out of a first-round series – or into a first-round series.

“If all they need is a little bit more of a nudge. If Alec Burks – literally or figuratively – is the kind of guy who can be enough of a change in the rotation, sort guys out, add good minutes here and subtract bad minutes there to make a meaningful difference.

“That’s much different than you have to find a way to trade those two picks and Westbrook and something for whatever you can find out there.

“I don’t think there is a Westbrook trade, and the Lakers have made it pretty clear they’re not interested in trading Westbrook – in part because they like how he’s playing.

“(But) LeBron would like them to make a trade – he’s not just ‘casually out there doing his job’ – he’s making a point. The screws are being turned on the front office because the team is playing better than quite frankly I think thought they were going to.”

Adding more reason for LA to try and make some sort of upgrade is that the West is wide open with several teams bunched up – particularly below the top four seeds Denver, Memphis (both 26-13), New Orleans (24-16) and Dallas (23-18) – and even the Mavericks have been up and down.

Below them, nine teams – Sacramento, Golden State, the Clippers, Phoenix, Minnesota, Portland, the Lakers, Utah and OKC – have won between 18 and 20 games – and you couldn’t say many of those other eight sides are categorically better than the Lakers.

It means there’s a realistic pathway for the purple and gold to make the playoffs, and from there, anything’s possible, or at least there’s a lot more reason for optimism than some handful of weeks ago.

Plus as impressive as say the Nuggets, Grizzlies and Pelicans have been this season, they’re far from formidable and don’t have that much playoff experience, nor any real post-season success. If anything, the reigning champion Golden State is the sleeping giant in the West sweepstakes when Steph Curry returns.

The fact that several teams have spent time in the West’s No. 1 seed this season speaks to this equality in the conference – compared to the East where Boston is the standout side then another clear tier with Brooklyn, Cleveland and Philadelphia and then a big drop off.

Simply put, there’s not many teams the Lakers would truly fear in a seven-game series, especially when Davis comes back from injury.

That could be on the horizon too, with ESPN reporting the star centre has moved a step closer to returning to the court.

Davis plans to begin the ramp up process to return to play when the team returns to LA this week, and there’s optimism he could be back in the starting line-up within weeks.

Let’s not forget Davis had recaptured his previous superstar heights prior to his injury as arguably the form player of the NBA, averaging 27.4 points per game on 59 per cent shooting from the field and 82 per cent from the line, 12.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocks.

The Lakers front office would probably want to see what they’ve got when he does return prior to making any moves, but it’s possible he could force their hand.

Plus what was once considered a roster lacking talent has proven otherwise in recent weeks.

Thomas Bryant has done a brilliant job filling in as starting centre – averaging 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds over the last month – to soften the blow of Davis’ injury.

Dennis Schroder has really emerged as another key player on this team and another competent guard and role player, while Russell Westbrook continues to excel in a sixth-man role.

However not everything revolves around just the Lakers’ position, but the dynamics of the NBA at large.

While the evenness of the league has worked in the Lakers’ favour in moving up the standings, it works against them on the trade market, with so many teams still in the playoff hunt.

It’s made for an extreme seller’s market, such is the logjam of teams fighting for at least a play-in spot – and only a handful in seller mode.

It means the price to acquire players is at its highest because three quarters of the league is bidding against each other for one asset.

Right now, sides like Washington, Toronto and Chicago are still looking to stay competitive and make their own push in the second half of the season, although they may ultimately decide to go in another direction closer to the deadline.

There’s even less sides in the West that could be sellers outside of Houston and San Antonio, then Utah will also be a big watch if it continues to plummet.

“This right now is so much more of a seller’s market than a buyer’s market,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski noted.

“So many teams haven’t pivoted yet and haven’t decided whether they’re going to try and add and get in the playoffs and play-in, or do they take a step back and start to offload assets.

“So much of the league is watching Chicago, Toronto and Washington among a bunch of others.

“I spoke to one general manager today who essentially said you’ve got to have great conviction with a deal it’s going to make you much better, because the asking prices are so high right now.

“You’ve got to know it’s not just going to be an incremental improvement to give up a first-round pick or multiple first-round picks.

“Especially in a season when there are so many teams hanging around the play-in right now, that’s a big factor in all this.”

You therefore sense the Lakers probably can’t get away with pulling off any sort of roster upgrade – no matter how big or small – without giving up at least one of their future picks.

And then you reach the debate of if they’re going to trade one of their picks for a small upgrade – like a Bojan Bogdanovic or Eric Gordon type – are they better off going all-in for a star or holding out hope that a player of Bradley Beal or Zach LaVine’s ilk eventually becomes available?

A lesser move could also simply cost the Lakers an asset without genuinely improving them. But then the higher you go up the talent sphere, the bigger the risk with more potential to bog down the roster and limit the flexibility for future moves.

Any move could also eat into LA’s cap space next off-season – currently projected to be around $30 million – when the likes of Kyrie Irving, Myles Turner and Khris Middleton can all become free agents.

The above points are no doubt the types of discussions the Lakers front office would be having daily.

“The reality has been the reality – they only have two first-round picks eligible to be traded for the rest of the decade as of right now,” The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on Fan Duel TV.

“They’re going to have more picks open up as the years go on, but as of right now, they only have two first-round assets.

“Their position – and one other teams have felt – is one of being cautious with those picks and careful deciding what trade they want to make.

“Especially with the uncertainty of Davis’ health status and when exactly he’s going to be back … I don’t think there’s an expectation the Lakers are going to do much that’s of significance in this trade market.

“Just because of the uncertainty of the season. You don’t want to burn those picks and it’s not going tor really the needle of where you’re expecting to go.

“I do think there are people on this roster that do understand that predicament this team is in.”

So is there actually a trade available that can benefit the Lakers both in the interim and long-term?

You get the feeling that any moves available right now would be an overpay as a opposed to a genuine win overall.

All the Lakers can really do is be patient and continue to see where its season goes from here with a pragmatic approach. After all, we’re only approaching the halfway mark, and sometimes, no move is the best move.

But this proud franchise should also be open for business for the right piece at the right price, and not be married to its draft picks too.

There’s no obvious pathway for LA at the moment, but at least much bluer skies.