Lakers are reportedly showing little urgency in trade talks

Posted by author January 25, 2025 Sports

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With just under two weeks to go before the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers continue to go back and forth between being on the verge of going on a major spurt and suffering one or two disappointing losses.

They downed the defending world champion Boston Celtics 117-96 on Thursday, which seemed to illustrate that they have a team that could simply need one or two more pieces to make a real playoff run this spring. Anthony Davis seems to believe the team isn’t far off from being a contender, and he and LeBron James have a great desire for the front office to secure at least one upgrade via the trade market in the next week or two.

But as Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN noted in an article, Los Angeles doesn’t seem to have any real sense of urgency in trade talks (h/t Lakers Daily).

Via ESPN:

“The Lakers’ recent discussions with teams show little sign of aggression, sources say, and those actions speak to their concern level about their stars at the moment,” Windhorst and Bontemps wrote. “The Lakers have shown a reticence to put their future first-round picks into trades in recent seasons, and there’s no indication that position has shifted.”

This seems to corroborate a recent report in The Athletic that the team is more likely to either make a smaller trade involving no future first-round draft picks or simply stand pat than it is to make a move that would significantly move the needle.

It is widely known that L.A. wants and needs a serviceable center, but it is also likely looking for a true point guard or ball-handling guard. Overall, it also reportedly wants to upgrade in terms of speed and athleticism.