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The Feb. 19 trade deadline is closing in, but the Los Angeles Lakers could be preparing to stand pat over the next 24 hours. The Lakers want to maximize salary cap flexibility and their draft picks, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. The Lakers have been linked to a few players, most notably Goran Dragic as the Phoenix Suns seek a trade partner, but it may be a quiet deadline in Los Angeles after all.
The Lakers have typically waited until the final hours to make any final roster adjustments. Steve Blake was a deadline trade, while Ramon Sessions and Jordan Hill were brought in near a deadline as well. Los Angeles has until noon on the 19th to finalize any trades.
This is the current Lakers' line of thinking, according to Medina's sources:
The Lakers consider it a "high" priority, according to the league source both to maintain financial flexibility for this offseason's free agency and to protect their draft picks. The Lakers have a middle first-round pick from Houston as part of the Jeremy Lin trade. The Lakers also owe a first-round pick to the Phoenix Suns as part of the Steve Nash trade, though they could keep it if the selection lands in the top five during the NBA draft lottery in late May.
The team has reportedly resisted any efforts to include Jordan Clarkson in trade discussions. He's filled in as starting point guard and was a second-round prospect the Lakers paid cash considerations for. A separate reports notes Jordan Hill will survive another deadline in purple and gold.
The Suns and Lakers have entertained trade discussions on Dragic, but several teams are interested in acquiring his services and right to give him a pricey five-year contract this summer. Outside of Dragic, few solid trade crumbs have fallen to the surface, which lines up with Medina's report that the deadline will be a silent one for Mitch Kupchak.