Two seasons ago, the last game of the Los Angeles Lakers played before the deadline for negotiations looked like a referendum on the state of the franchise – a loss of 42 points to the Indiana Pacers as the rumors spun. Tuesday’s 128-111 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans was not what for the Lakers, they are the NBA champions, after all, but the resulting anguish was frighteningly reminiscent.
“You have to be realistic,” said Kyle Kuzma later, left to be the spokesman for the standard player, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis out due to injuries. “It is a challenge. But it is nothing that we cannot overcome.”
The Pelicans’ game was ugly, with the Lakers losing by up to 30 points – which coincided with the number of points by which they were defeated in the painting (62-32) – while they were without their best defender in Davis and his starting center, Marc Gasol, who lost his ninth consecutive game while recovering after going through the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
When the 2019 Lakers hit rock bottom in Indiana, tension arose from the team’s search for Davis, with the LA collection of young stars wondering if the sun was setting early in their Southern California careers.
These Lakers are not in an identical situation. Some of the young players from two years ago were on the other side of things on Tuesday, with Brandon Ingram leading all scorers with 36 points from 14 of 21 shots and Josh Hart scoring 15 rebounds, five assists and five steals, although only kicked 1 to 9. (Concern about the deadline in February 2019 was not unfounded – Davis’s trade with the Pelicans passed four months later).
No, the Lakers are not looking to make wholesale changes to get a second star to join James this time. They have their franchise pillars, although one is in a hiking boot and the other hasn’t played since Valentine’s Day.
However, there is still pressure to improve margins and increase your chances of championship in the postseason. For much of the season, it looked like it would involve examining the takeover market for one or two veterans of the impact, just as LA added Markieff Morris last year, and he became a vital piece during his bubble run.
But now, in a three-game losing streak, bringing the Lakers’ record to 7-10 since Davis was injured and dropped to 4th place in the Western Conference standings – just two and a half games above 6th Portland – those plans could be adjusted.
“I think it will certainly have an impact on our mentality when the time comes to close negotiations,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel at the weekend when asked about the state of his team.
One name mentioned as a potential candidate to be moved is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The shipowner was rewarded with a three-year, $ 40 million deal coming out of a postseason in which he averaged 10.7 points at 37.8% from a distance of 3 points, being one of the most perimeter advocates confidence that the Lakers had, but he saw his The percentage of 3 points fell this season from 52.9% in December, to 46.0% in January to 32.1% in February, until returning to 37.5% this month before the night of shooting 1 to 7 of Tuesday. Asked where he is, he was frank.
“I don’t know who’s talking about trade, I haven’t really paid attention to it or heard anything about it,” he said. “It was the first time I heard about it. But I don’t know … Man, I feel like the energy is good, I don’t think anyone will worry about any business unless they keep it personal.”
The Lakers are certainly keeping things personal. While it has become fashionable for some league executives to pass commercial intentions to the media as a kind of rehearsal balloon to assess a player’s worth, virtually none of the rumors you’ll read this week come from the vice president of basketball operations at Lakers. 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 disclosing.
No, it’s not the Lakers ‘fault that they only had 71 days off, and the quick turnaround may have contributed to Davis’ right leg injuries. They had no control over Solomon Hill diving into James’ ankle to try to steal the ball. They had no way of knowing that their favorite status would be so short-lived with a former MVP at James Harden forcing his way out of Houston to join some other offensive conductors at Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the Brooklyn Nets, catapulting Brooklyn’s chances. as contenders. They were unable to choose the location on the schedule that James would leave, in a tortuous period of eight games in 12 days.
However, that is the reality. That’s where things are, which is why this moment, less than 48 hours before Thursday’s trading deadline, brings Lakers the same feeling two days before the deadline two years ago.
There is a lot at stake.
“My expectation is to win games with this group and I believe in the group we have,” said Vogel. “If nothing happens [at the trade deadline], we will win games and find a way to win games during this period, and that will benefit us in the long run. I’m not sure if we will see any changes or not. … Most commercial terms are too many conversations that result in nothing, and that is my expectation as a coach. “
For Kuzma, one of the only remnants, along with Alex Caruso, to remain from that young nucleus a few years ago, perhaps there were some lessons learned.
No matter what happens in the negotiation deadline, there is work to be done.
“I think we just need to look at the design, continue to trust each other, try to play for each other on both sides of the ball,” said Kuzma. “I think if we can do that, we will give ourselves a chance every night.
“This is the challenge we face. I just have to tie the belt and go.”