Despite plenty of rumors circulating about their desire to do something at the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers were unable to find anyone or anything that they could add to their roster. Once 3 p.m. EST hit on Thursday afternoon and the Lakers had the exact same roster that they had when everyone woke up that morning, it became obvious that there’s only one path forward for the team: the buyout market.
Of course, banking on the buyout market is not only the best idea. Teams need to, you know, buy guys out, and there’s no guarantee those players who become available do anything of note. This, we presume, is why Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins of ESPN busted out laughing when they were informed by Malika Andrews that Adrian Wojnarowski reported L.A. is turning its focus to picking up guys on the buyout market.
A very, very, very good rule of thumb is to never be in such a position as an organization that your best bet to improve yourself makes people laugh. As of today, the Lakers sit in ninth place in the Western Conference at 26-30, and will head into the second half of the season with Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Kendrick Nunn — the three players whose names popped up the most in trade rumors — still on the roster.
