After coming into the 2023-24 NBA season with title-contending aspirations, the Los Angeles Lakers have fallen way short of that mark as the team nears the halfway point of the regular season.
The Lakers are currently 19-21 coming into tonight’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with the team struggling to get any momentum with six losses in their last eight games.
With the Lakers struggling as badly as they have this season, the consensus is this team will make some moves ahead of the NBA trade deadline on February 8 in order to help right the ship in order to salvage the second half of the season in the same way they did last year.
Even though all signs point to the Lakers making moves before next month’s trade deadline, forward Jarred Vanderbilt believes that this team is capable of turning things around without making substantial moves, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Jarred Vanderbilt says he believes “internally”the Lakers “are capable” of a second-half turnaround like last year without any big trades to shake things up pic.twitter.com/mS6bJS7FcC
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 15, 2024
With the Lakers being a franchise that doesn’t accept losing for long, especially when the team has two superstars leading the way in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it’s safe to assume this team will be highly active in the coming weeks to figure out a way to shake things up and get back on track in the West.
As of right now, the team has been frequently linked to Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls high-flyer Zach LaVine ahead of the trade deadline.
However, the team has been reluctant to part ways with guard Austin Reaves, which could make either move impossible to make before the deadline.
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