D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura have somewhere between neutral to negative trade value around the league. There are some teams that have interest in one of those guys but there are very few if any teams that have interest in multiple of those guys and that’s ultimately been why the Lakers have not been able to find a deal.
by Odd-Direction9452
13 Comments
Rob told us trades were too difficult for him at the beginning of the off season. This is no surprise
See yall in the play-in again.
That Portland rumor seems like such a great trade and I hope the two teams can work something out that leaves everyone happy because Grant and Timelord could be big additions.
I also hate waiting until the deadline to make a move in this death race called the Western Conference. You wait too long and you might not have a chance to secure a play-in spot. People don’t seem to understand that the West might be the strongest we’ve seen in a long ass time and you can’t throw away too many games this season or you’re screwed.
We have heard this repeated for ages. Wait until offseason, wait until we have picks to trade, wait until prices reduce, can’t buy houses not for sale. It rings very shallow.
Reading between the lines I’m of the belief the front office has given up on winning another chip with Lebron and AD. As a result, they won’t trade first round picks unless a surefire superstar lands in their laps. And that’s not happening.
They will roll out the buyout market line at the trade deadline and make excuses. Watch.
I said this a few days ago and I’ll say it again. As fans, we all want something to talk about and feel optimistic about. But, people need to understand that it doesn’t hurt much to wait. It hurts a lot more if they rush into a deal and trade all of their assets and still can’t contend.
Right now, in terms of trades, the biggest thing the Lakers need to fix is not their lack of 2-way wings. It’s not their lack of a back-up big. What they need to fix is their leverage in the market and the value of their assets. It’s only after they fix those issues that they’ll be able to get any true difference makers at decent value.
We all saw this same shit with Westbrook. After the 2021-2022 season, everyone was trying to fleece the Lakers because they knew the Lakers were desperate. For fuck’s sake, the Rockets were trying to get the Lakers to give up a FRP to swap Westbrook for Wall. Even in the Buddy Hield / Turner deal, the Pacers were asking the Lakers for 2 FRPs and multiple SRPs for what?
As is, everyone knows the Lakers are desperate. After their 1st round exit the season before, the Lakers are the ones that want to make a change so everyone is going to charge them a premium for it. On top of that, everyone on their roster aside from LeBron, AD, and maybe Reaves have depressed trade values at the moment from the previous season/playoffs. Vanderbilt’s value is low due to him getting injured. Vincent’s contract probably has negative value due to him missing most of the season. D’Angelo and Rui’s values are low due to poor playoff performances. JHS’s value will be low before he proves that he is healthy.
Any trade the Lakers make now will be with lowered leverage and with lowered asset value.
So, how do they fix that? They need to show teams that they don’t need to make a change. They need to start the season competently and show that they’re a solid team even without a trade. And, it’ll be the players who have depressed trade values right now who will need to be the difference. Vanderbilt is going to need to show he’s healthy and an elite defender with upside. Vincent is going to need to show he’s healthy and a solid 3&D PoA defender. D’Angelo is going to have to remind people again that he’s a great regular season PG. Rui is going to need to show that he’s capable and committed to making significant improvements summer after summer. With AD and LeBron likely in need of a breather after playing for team USA, the rest of the team will have the opportunity to show out. The question now is if the coaching staff can enable them and if they themselves can show up.
If they can do that, they can change the perception that they’re desperate to improve the roster. They can change the perception that their role players are just not worth their contracts.
And, if they fail to do that, then I don’t think this roster has the assets to be rebuilt into a true contender without a massive steal of a trade. Even in that bad scenario, the Lakers are still just in the same position as they are in right now. Teams are asking for everything they can from the Lakers right now and that’ll still be the case in the future if the Lakers can’t improve their leverage and asset value.
Just need a big center that can occasionally play next to AD
This podcast is a waste of time. Buha doesnt know anything or given any real analysis.
Missing out on Klay, DeRozan, and CP3 is deeply embarrassing. Maybe they got a little overpaid but the Lakers image has been damaged so badly, playing with LeBron on even an MLE didn’t move the needle
“I have no idea wtf I’m talking about”
JJ should get Hyunjung Lee from Portland
This FO is talking about leverage seriously? Does this FO really believe they still have leverage? Smh 🤦🏼
we can start the season with what we have and then panic and make moves for what we lack as the season progresses by all star break. thats the best mindset I can think of as a Lakers fan.
Planning on being a Laker fan a lot longer than these next few years (G-d willing) so I’d rather the Lakers not mortgage the future to land a halfway decent player now that would only make us maybe just slightly better. Frankly none of the names mentioned out there are worth trading 2- or 3-future 1st round picks for.