The Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs have come close to trading players many times, but haven't participated in a single trade together in the last 32 years.
While most teams in the NBA try to build their teams by drafting players and developing them, this has never really been the Lakers' strong suit. Due to the fact that they are in one of the biggest markets in the NBA, they have an insane ability to attract players through free agency and trades.
The three best players on the roster right now are LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, who have either joined the team via trade or free agency. Speaking of trades to the Lakers, the Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan recently revealed his trade to the Lakers was a done deal last season until the Purple and Gold chose Brodie.
DeRozan had an insane last season, and if he was on the Lakers' roster instead of Russell Westbrook, the organization would have at least qualified for the playoffs. But trades fall through, right? Nothing suspicious about it.
NBA Fan Points Out A Strange Fact About The Lakers And The Spurs
Last season, when the Lakers were trying to trade for DeRozan, he was still a player for the San Antonio Spurs. Instead of entertaining the Lakers' sign and trade offer, the franchise decided to go with the Chicago Bulls.
When Kawhi Leonard was a part of the San Antonio Spurs, he was constantly linked to the Lakers, but ended up being traded to the Toronto Raptors. Keeping these things in mind, an NBA fan on Twitter pulled up all the trade records between the two franchises.
Surprisingly, the last Lakers-Spurs trade happened 32 years ago. It is quite a long time for two teams not to indulge in a trade even if they are in the same conference.
As mentioned by the fan in his tweet, Gregg Popovich became the head coach of the Spurs during the 1996-97 NBA season, and all trade talks with the Lakers have fallen apart. In total, the two franchises have indulged in just five trades.
It seems abundantly clear that coach Pop seemingly never wants to trade his players to the Purple and Gold. There could be a more personal reason behind his decision not to trade players to the Lakers. Or it could just be a huge coincidence, we can only hope that coach Popovich will one day make a comment about it.
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