NBA News: LA Lakers owner Jeanie Buss name-drops LeBron James and Anthony Davis as players she's excited to watch under coach Darvin Ham, surprisingly omits Russell Westbrook in favor of former Miami Heat star
The LA Lakers have had a rather uneventful experience with trades this offseason. However, rumor has it that Lakers owner Jeannie Buss is excited at the prospect of Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Kendrick Nunn playing under Darvin Ham.
The Purple and Gold haven't made a lot of noteworthy moves in the offseason. After a rather disappointing end to their campaign, they were expected to regroup and work towards improving their roster situation.
With Russell Wetsbrook still on the roster, the Purple and Gold failed to address one of their primary offseason goals. However, Jeannie Buss still appears to be in good spirits regarding the team's fortunes.
In an interview with GQ's Tyler R. Hines, Buss had this to say about her excitement with the team for the upcoming season:
"We changed coaches, so that’s a new voice. And we are continuing to, hopefully, stay injury-free. We want to see Anthony Davis stay on the floor and be healthy the whole season. And when you have Anthony and LeBron, there’s a lot of great things that can happen."
"But you have to have a supporting cast of players that can fill roles and also stay injury free. We have Kendrick Nunn coming back after missing last season, and a lot of young players that…I can name names, but until we see how they play there really isn’t…
"We have to give Darvin Ham all of the time and resources he needs to put the team together to see how they move forward."
Jeanie Buss is excited to watch LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kendrick Nunn play this season for the Lakers under new head coach Darvin Ham silverscreenandroll.com/2022/8/24/2332…
Considering that Buss rallied the fan base around the Westbrook trade last season, not including Westbrook in her response doesn't bode well for either party. As the situation takes yet another turn, the Lakers will hope to see an eventful outcome out of this one.
The LA Lakers are not done making trades
Although the Purple and Gold had a rather disappointing start to their offseason, the side aren't done making moves.
The LA Lakers primarily filled their roster with players they signed in free agency. This includes familiar names such as Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant. While the organization accomplished little to nothing on the trade front, the first domino may have fallen.
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Thomas Bryant is signing with the Lakers on a one-year deal, per @ChrisBHaynes https://t.co/i3NAFeRXry
The LA Lakers are reportedly in advanced negotiations with the Utah Jazz to acquire Patrick Beverley for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson.
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The Lakers are acquiring Patrick Beverley for Talen Horton Tucker, per @ShamsCharania https://t.co/Qof7v7uEgV
While this isn't a blockbuster move by any means, it is definitely suggestive of further moves.
When considering the trade rumors, acquiring Beverley and now Buss' comments, everything points towards a Westbrook trade in the works. Considering that certain rumors have also seen sophomore Austin Reaves as a potential starter, the LA Lakers may have engaged in trade negotiations for Russell Westbrook.
At this point in time, the possible destinations are the Indiana Pacers and the Utah Jazz. However, considering that the deal with Utah has already gone through, a trade with Indiana for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner appears to be more likely.
Jovan Buha of @TheAthletic believes the Lakers next step is to get the Pacers deal done 👀 https://t.co/5XDloI5V7M