LeBron James, like JJ Redick, regretted it again recently: the Lakers have no room for error this season, as they have no margin over their opponents. They have to be perfect to win against the best but perfection doesn't happen every day in Los Angeles, with a record of 23 wins for 18 losses.
So much so that, according to Shams Charania,ESPNLeBron James and Anthony Davis seem to doubt the Lakers' abilities if nothing changes. Thus, they would have expressed their desire to see the leaders make transfers to improve the group, believing that the Californians are not missing much to aim for the heights.
Perhaps those missing pieces are Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood, who still haven't played this season. A few weeks ago, the Lakers had already made a trade, sending D'Angelo Russell to Brooklyn for Dorian Finney-Smith. A transfer which has not yet borne fruit.
Mortgage your future or not?
How to do better? The Lakers' weapons are quite thin, with only two Draft picks in the first round (2029 and 2031) and two in the second round (theirs and that of the Clippers for 2025).
Letting them go – and the franchise is ready to do it – to go all-in this season and perhaps next, is to make a risky bet on the future, as Stephen Curry spoke about for the Warriors, also average this season.
“In the face of desperate trades or moves that jeopardize the future, there is a responsibility to keep the franchise in good shape and in a good position when it comes to knowing where we leave it when it's over for us”said the playmaker, who did not want Golden State leaders to press the big red button without thinking about the long term. The Lakers stars seem to be in a different state of mind.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Anthony Davis | 37 | 35.0 | 52.0 | 31.8 | 78.4 | 2.7 | 9.1 | 11.8 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 25.6 |
| LeBron James | 37 | 34.9 | 51.4 | 40.0 | 75.8 | 0.9 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 8.9 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 23.8 |
| Austin Reaves | 35 | 34.9 | 44.5 | 36.9 | 83.3 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 18.4 |
| Angelo Russell | 29 | 26.3 | 41.5 | 33.3 | 84.9 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 12.4 |
| Rui Hachimura | 35 | 32.3 | 49.4 | 41.7 | 77.6 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 12.3 |
| Dalton Knecht | 40 | 21.3 | 45.3 | 33.9 | 80.8 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 9.3 |
| Max Christie | 39 | 24.1 | 44.4 | 36.2 | 85.2 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 8.4 |
| Dorian Finney Smith | 7 | 23.5 | 40.0 | 36.0 | 80.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 5.9 |
| Jaxson Hayes | 19 | 16.3 | 62.3 | 0.0 | 75.9 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 5.2 |
| Gabe Vincent | 36 | 19.6 | 39.2 | 30.8 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 4.7 |
| Cam Reddish | 29 | 18.6 | 42.4 | 28.9 | 61.9 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 3.4 |
| Shake Milton | 6 | 9.7 | 28.6 | 20.0 | 75.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
| Christian Koloko | 22 | 9.2 | 58.3 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 2.0 |
| Jalen Hood-schifino | 2 | 7.1 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| Armel Traore | 8 | 7.7 | 27.8 | 0.0 | 28.6 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| Quincy Olivari | 2 | 5.2 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| Maxwell Lewis | 7 | 4.2 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Bronny James | 10 | 2.3 | 11.1 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Trey Jemison | 1 | 14.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
