Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak indicated in mid-December that he expects to look at trade opportunities that arise before February’s deadline, but that he would be fine with standing pat and not making an in-season move. According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), that seems to be the team’s private stance as well as its public one. Kyler suggests that the Lakers aren’t “overly interested in change,” and if they make a major trade, it’s more likely to happen during the offseason than at the deadline.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Kupchak has been staying patient with the development of some of the Lakers’ promising young players, and he’s pleased with what he has seen so far, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.
- After missing some time with a hamstring problem, veteran point guard Jose Calderon returned to the Lakers’ active roster in late December. However, he has received a few DNP-CDs in a row, and head coach Luke Walton says it has been “tricky” to integrate Calderon into the lineup. Medina has the details and the quotes in another Daily News report.
- The Lakers have lost 15 of 17 games since the start of December, prompting Bill Oram of The Orange County Register to suggest that the team’s lack of fight may stem from an absence of on-court leadership on the young roster.