Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka were trending today, and these days that's never a good thing. Fans seem to have been angry about commentary (including from The Athletic's Shams Charania) that the Lakers won't be trading the two first round picks they currently control ('27 and '29) if the team continues to perform as it has. The reasoning - no trade would save the season, and they'd be better off waiting. Is that correct? What kind of option tree are the Lakers even looking at right now? With LeBron banged up and a subpar supporting cast?
Which leads to an interesting hypothetical - is it possible Anthony Davis is the one who gets moved this year? Before Russell Westbrook? Could it be both? What would an A.D. trade look like? Would it be for a star? For depth pieces? Picks and maybe a young good-but-not-star player?
And what kind of return would Davis even fetch right now?
And has Westbrook's value changed, given his success as a sixth man? What would it mean for the Lakers if teams no longer viewed him as an automatic buyout? Just a contract to acquire and quickly get rid of? Could that actually give Pelinka some options down the road?
Finally, the Lakers are getting calls from all across Lakers Nation to get off their collective duff and do something before this season washes away. The team , and the franchise for that matter, is undoubtedly in a hole. But is there a trade that would help them genuinely climb out? If not just for this year, to lay the foundation for next season? Or would it just be best to put down the shovels for a while, rather than risk a bad deal that just makes the hole deeper?
A one or two year slide could easily be a five or six year collapse, if management isn't smart. (Setting aside, for a moment, how much faith anyone has in Pelinka's ability to put this back together again.)
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: The Lakers aren't currently likely to make a trade sacrificing their remaining first rounders if the situation doesn't improve... and it may not improve without trading the first rounders.
SEGMENT 2: What is Anthony Davis's trade value? How about Westbrook's?
SEGMENT 3: Are the Lakers smart just to do nothing for now?
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