The Los Angeles Lakers were among the teams that were highly expected to be active on the market before the 2022 NBA trade deadline. With their current performance, the Lakers obviously need to improve their roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis to have a realistic chance of fully dominating the Western Conference and winning the NBA championship title. Unfortunately, though they were mentioned in various trade rumors in the past months, the 2022 NBA trade deadline passed without a single roster move for the Purple and Gold.
Lakers GM Rob Pelinka Talks About 2022 NBA Trade Deadline
Many Lakers' fans were disappointed with the team's failure to make major roster upgrades before the 2022 NBA trade deadline. However, in a recent interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka revealed that they tried engaging in trade discussions but haven't found anything that would help them improve short-term and long-term.
"We were aggressive in a lot of conversations trying to improve this team," Pelinka said. "We always want to put this team in the best position to win a championship, but ultimately didn't find a deal that had net positive effect for sort of the short-term success of the team and the long-term. And those are both things we consider."
Rumored Lakers-Rockets Trade
Days before the 2022 NBA trade deadline, rumors were circulating that the Lakers and the Houston Rockets were engaged in trade talks involving Russell Westbrook and John Wall. The Rockets have reportedly offered to swap Wall for Westbrook if the Lakers were willing to give up a future first-round pick. Unsurprisingly, the Lakers rejected the Rockets' proposal.
However, it was revealed that the two teams discussed a more interesting version of the trade. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Lakers and the Rockets talked about a deal that would send a trade package that included Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, and a 2027 first-round pick to Houston in exchange for Wall and Christian Wood.
Would The Trade Make Sense For Lakers?
Surrendering a first-round pick just to swap Westbrook for Wall won't make any sense for the Lakers. Wall hasn't played a single game since last season and is also owed a huge amount of money until next season. However, the inclusion of Wood in the trade discussion made the deal interesting for the Purple and Gold.
The successful acquisition of Wood would have improved the Lakers' frontcourt. Wood would have enabled the Lakers to pair Anthony Davis with a big man who's also capable of knocking down shots from beyond the arc. Like Davis, Wood is also a great rebounder and a quality rim protector.
Lakers' Offer Not Enough For Rockets
With the team currently focused on the development of their young players, trading their veterans for assets that could help them speed up the rebuilding process would make a lot of sense for the Rockets. However, the Rockets may have thought that the trade package featuring THT and a future first-round pick wasn't enough for them to send Wood to Los Angeles. Though they chose to keep him for the remainder of the 2021-22 NBA season, the Rockets are expected to explore moving Wood again in the 2022 NBA offseason.
]]>The Inquisitr
