After so many rumors leading up to the trade deadline, Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers front office ultimately chose not to make any deals. As such, the onus is now on LeBron James and Anthony Davis to lead the roster they have already assembled to a postseason run.
Of course the Lakers can still make moves on the buyout market, and have already done so, but for the most part what the team has is what they got. The Lakers’ inactivity at the deadline also came as a bit of a surprise since James sent out a tweet a week earlier with an hourglass emoji, seemingly stating his frustration at the Lakers’ struggles and that time was approaching for a change to be made.
But Pelinka has witnessed the opposite in his conversations with LeBron, noting that the Lakers star is focused on bringing the best out of his teammates.
“The last conversation I had with him was that he was focused on the guys in the locker room and making them the best players and teammates they could be,” Pelinka said. “I think he said after our last game, ‘I love these guys.’ He knows as our leader and our captain, building those guys up and getting the best versions of themselves is going to be important to the run we make. So I’m excited to see that unfold.”
Getting the best versions of players like D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and Taurean Prince is absolutely crucial for the success of the Lakers. Obviously everyone must put in the work themselves, but LeBron and Davis can help in that growth and that is the task at hand now.
Of course the Lakers also have some players who remain out in Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent and Pelinka is hopeful they will eventually return and make an impact as well.
“We hope to have a couple of the guys that have been going through longer injuries. Vando, to date has been able to avoid a plan of surgery, so we hope at some point we get him back,” Pelinka added. “Could we add a really good player in the buyout market? At some point do we get a really good Gabe Vincent back? We’ve got to look forward to adding those bodies and in the coming days I think they’ll provide a depth push for us when we get some healthy players back that are really, really good players.”
It is unclear if those injured players will be able to return, let alone make a big impact. Whatever the case may be, LeBron is the leader of this team and the pressure will be on him to help bring his teammates up to the level they need to be for the Lakers to really compete and Pelinka feels he is more than capable of doing just that.
LeBron James believes Lakers starters had ‘great flow’ vs. Pelicans
LeBron James and the rest of the Lakers were certainly on point against the Pelicans on Friday night. All five starters scored at least 20 points and LeBron feels the group had a great rhythm.
“We were in a great flow, the ball was popping,” LeBron said. “Obviously DLo had it going, AR I believe started the game 7-for-7 or 6-for-6 and Rui had one of the best offensive performances he had this year. I think he was reading the defense, cutting behind the defense and also making his outside shots. So good performance for us offensively.”
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