Lakers Insider weighs in on why team hasn't made a consolidation trade yet
Despite being heavily involved in trade rumors, the LA Lakers have yet to make a big roster move this offseason. According to Locked On Lakers' Andy Kamenetzky, LA's inactivity can be attributed to an all-around quiet offseason as NBA teams cautiously approach the new CBA.
Following this year's first-round playoff exit, the Lakers were expected to revamp their veteran-laden roster around superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Early in the offseason, they were mentioned in trade rumors involving star players such as Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell. Since those reports fizzled out, they have been connected to high-level role players like Bruce Brown and Cameron Johnson.
Nonetheless, they are one of three teams (Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers) that haven't made a player acquisition since the start of free agency on June 30. Instead, their most noteworthy offseason additions are rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James. Meanwhile, they lost veterans Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince in free agency.
On Thursday, Kamenetzky joined The Athletic's Jovan Buha's podcast "Buha's Block" to discuss LA's sluggish start to the offseason. He noted that while there have been some trades, most teams have been conservative in their offseason approaches. Thus, the Lakers haven't been able to find the right trade partner yet.
"If you look around the league, ... it's been a pretty quiet offseason, period. I don't think there's been a ton of action," Kamenetzky said.
"It's not like it's felt like half or three-quarters of the league has been really reshuffling their decks in meaningful ways and the Lakers are the anomaly. ... Compared to other offseasons, it's been relatively quiet."
Kamenetzky added that the quiet offseason likely stems from teams' hesitancy to take on additional salary due to the league's new tax aprons.
"I feel like beyond whatever restrictions the Lakers are working with, you get a sense that the new CBA, there a lot of teams that want to be a little bit cautious just to see how things play out in the new 'apron world,' as [LA general manager] Rob Pelinka likes to call it," Kamenetzky said.
"Just to see how the mechanics of this really work before they start committing really heavily."
(from 8:23 mark onwards)
Jovan Buha on Lakers potentially overvaluing their role players amid unproductive trade talks
While the Lakers' trade talks have been unproductive thus far, they reportedly remain engaged in discussions. However, according to Jovan Buha, LA may be overvaluing its role players, contributing to its inability to complete a deal.
Later in Thursday's podcast, Buha touched on how many of the Lakers' trade chips, like Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura, have limited league-wide trade value. Thus, LA may be asking for too much in return.
"From my sense coming out of [Las] Vegas [NBA Summer League], and just talking to people around the league about the Lakers, most of [their] contracts have neutral to negative value to a lot of teams," Buha said. "I think there's a bit of a gap there between how the Lakers view some of those guys internally ... vs. how the rest of the league views them."
(from 14:18 mark onwards)
Time will tell if the Lakers make a substantial offseason move. However, given their limited trade assets and teams' apparent reluctance to take on additional salary, their chances of making a big splash appear to be dwindling.
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