After a 28-point defeat to the Spurs, the Lakers suffered four consecutive losses, and the team's record reached 16 wins and 17 losses, and the winning percentage once again fell to less than 50%.
Such a performance is almost a microcosm of the Lakers' season, and the team has never played competitively for a long time, and has fallen to the bottom again after a short rebound.
Even if the Lakers have suffered many problems such as injuries, epidemic isolation and running-in, but the lack of competitiveness of the team is a fact, and other teams in the league have also encountered all this, the Lakers need to face up to the natural shortcomings in the team's internal configuration.
As a championship team, the lakers' current predicament is, in the final analysis, the embodiment of the unfavorable performance of the third giant Wei Shao, because the bet on Wei Shao, resulting in the Lakers have to put the three giants of Wei Shao + James + thick eyebrows at the same time.
The embarrassing thing is that the three giants do not have the ability to space, coupled with the lack of willingness to serve in the No. 5 position for a long time, forcing the Lakers to need two other starters, who can solve the problem of defense and rebounding, but also be able to open up space.
But the problem is that the sum of the big three's salaries has taken up most of the salary space, and the Lakers simply can't get high-quality 3D wings and space-type interior lines, and even forced to send Caruso away.
As James said after the fiasco to the Spurs, in addition to the Big Three, the Lakers do not know how to arrange the other two starters, and neither set of lineups has formed a chemical reaction.
Therefore, for the Lakers, the idea of switching to the team is undoubtedly the most direct choice to solve the team's current predicament.
Of course, the Lakers' trade with Wei Shao is not that Wei Shao has performed badly, nor is it that the Lakers have not given Wei Shao enough opportunities, but the two sides are really not suitable.
Around this idea, the US media "hoopshabit" also gave two Weishao heavy trading plans, the Lakers and Weishao are expected to get together and disperse, of which 2 for 3 to New York, 3 for 3 solutions to take what they need.
Trading Scenario 1
Lakers: Get Fournier + Walker + Burks;
Knicks: Got a 2025 first-round pick from Westbrook + (lotto protection).
Judging from The performance of Westbrook this season, in addition to the larger contract, Westbrook is still a reasonable All-Star level player.
Averaging 36 minutes per game, he can deliver 19.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8 assists and 1.21 steals, shooting 46% overall and 31.1% from three-point range.
Handing over such data was still affected by the poor performance at the beginning of the season, and after Reducing the number of outside shots and increasing the proportion of attack frames, the overall efficiency increased significantly, and the defensive performance was no problem, which was fully in line with Thibodeau's requirements.
For the Lakers, this is a deal to adjust the direction of team building, and the team is no longer obsessed with the Big Three, but as far as possible to add instant combat helpers for James and Thick Brow.
Walker is undoubtedly a better backcourt option than Thomas Jr., and he can provide the three-point shooting that the Lakers need, and he has a 42.1% three-point shooting rate this season.
Fourniers can make the Lakers add a scorer who averages about 15 points per game, and Burks is the kind of two-way wing that the Lakers need the most, which will improve the overall rotation thickness of the team.
Transaction Scenario 2
Lakers: Get Turner + Leville + Lamb;
Pacers: Get a pick for westbrook + Tucker + 2025 first round pick.
For both teams, it was a deal to take what they needed, and the Pacers not only got Westbrook, who was in line with the team's short-term bid for a playoff spot, but if Westbrook's addition still didn't help the team turn things around, the team also got Tucker and a first-round pick in the trade.
After the expiration of Westbrook's contract, the Pacers can also free up huge salary space, and the team's rebuilding process will be rapidly shortened.
For the Lakers, the deal is perfect, although the team will send away the quality chips, but Turner, Le Vere and Lamb not only meet the team's goal of winning the championship in the next 1-2 seasons, but also appear in the team system for a long time after James' future retirement.