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The NBA trade deadline came and went, and the Los Angeles Lakers have the same roster that they did on opening night. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing when you consider they have a three-game cushion over the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, there were definitely holes on the roster fans were hoping to see filled, starting with the small forward position.
Outside of LeBron James, the Lakers don’t have a true small forward on their roster. Danny Green is capable of playing spot minutes at 3, but in big games, he’ll be tasked with guarding the other team’s best guard. The same can be said of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who’s struggled to defend bigger wings this season, most notably Kawhi Leonard.
It’s for that reason the Lakers went after just about every small forward that was available on the trade market, including Andre Iguodala, Marcus Morris and Robert Covington. Unfortunately, due to the Lakers’ limited assets and financial restrictions, those talks didn’t go very far, and they still don’t have that wing defender they so desperately need to compete with the teams like the Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. Not all hope is lost, though.
Equipped with a disabled player exception worth $1.75 million, the Lakers are expected to be players in the buyout market. They’ve also been linked to some of the last notable free agents in the NBA, J.R. Smith and Darren Collison.
On today’s episode of the Silver Screen & Roll podcast, Christian and Sabreena talk about which players would make the biggest impact for the Lakers, and why sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make.
You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcheror Google Podcasts.