With the NBA trade deadline in the past, players across the league can play with the security of knowing they will remain with their current teams for the rest of the season.
The Los Angeles Lakers came up in trade rumors as much as any other team this season. They were rumored to be after Dejounte Murray and Bruce Brown, among others, but they elected to make no moves ahead of the deadline.
They signed veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie from the buyout market, and he could be a solid contributor for them. Perhaps he will be the caliber of player they were hoping to get via trade, other than perhaps Murray, who is a former All-Star.
Los Angeles is 28-26 and ninth in the Western Conference. It appears the team is on its way to the play-in tournament again, but backup big man Christian Wood believes his crew is capable of doing much better.
Christian Wood says he thinks L.A. can avoid the play-in tournament if they “come back with the attitude to try to stay consistent” after the All-Star break: “I think we’re a top-six team” pic.twitter.com/D7bAICgdXe
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 13, 2024
Perhaps the biggest problem the Lakers have had all season is consistency. While they have defeated a number of the league’s best teams, they have also lost to many teams beneath them in the standings, usually in blowout fashion.
The vast majority of their games over the next six weeks will be at Crypto.com Arena, which will give them a golden opportunity to get hot down the stretch. Last season, they won 18 of their last 26 regular-season games en route to a Western Conference finals appearance.
