With the NBA mid-season trade deadline approaching, teams are looking for ways to change the status quo in order to reach their goals. For the Lakers, the performance of the first half of the season can be directly described as a failure, and the team is struggling to move forward under the constant injury problems, which is questioned, especially the giant Of Westbrook is not worthy of the name. And it is Wei Shao's failure to play the expected performance, so that the Lakers management once moved the idea of trading, but unfortunately, Wei Shao's state and large contract made other teams daunted, but only the Rockets that are in the process of being destroyed are willing to use Wall to exchange Wei Shao for the Lakers, and their asking price is that the Lakers need to send out the first round of signing in 2027 as a chip.
Westbrook + 2027 first round of Wall, this may be a new exit for the Lakers in the dead end of the trade with Westbrook, after all, although Wall has been seriously injured before, he was still able to cut the average of 20.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists last season, and his outside shooting, although also unstable, looks like it will be more able to help the Lakers on the offensive end than this season's Westbrook, and Wall's defense is also better than Westbrook. However, according to the latest report of Marc Stein, the potential deal about Westbrook + first-round signing for Wall has been ruined!
It is revealed that the Lakers have put the sending away of Wei Shao on the agenda in the previous discussion of the deal with the Rockets, but the new situation now is that Wei Shao will play in the Lakers until the end of the season. The reason why the Lakers abandoned this potential deal is that they are reluctant to put the 2027 first round signing into this deal, and they hope to keep this first round for use in other potential deals in the future.
The Rockets are currently in a mess, keeping Wall, or in exchange for Westbrook, it does not have any impact on them, the contract between the two is almost the same, but if they can get a first-round pick from this deal, the management will obviously not hesitate, because this is almost a first-round pick for white, especially in 2027 The Lakers are likely to enter the rebuild of the post-James era, so this first-round pick is particularly precious. And the Lakers eventually gave up on this risky deal, in addition to the reluctance to continue to consume their future assets, there is a deeper reason, related to James and thick eyebrows.
According to Marc Stein, the Lakers' decision to let Westbrook stay in the team is also considered for internal stability, last year they paid a huge price to get Westbrook, and the management did not want to admit that the deal was a failure so quickly, and had to pay a high price again to send him away. Last year's trade to Westbrook, it was James and Thick Brow who actively promoted it, which made Pelinka abandon the plan to trade Hield.
Last offseason, the Lakers had the opportunity to bring in hield and DeRozan at the same time, but James and Thick Brow decided to push the management to complete the deal with the Wizards after meeting with Wei Shao, and finally after the Lakers management actively negotiated and Wei Shao pleaded with the Wizards boss, the two sides reached a blockbuster deal. And Wei Shao's performance this season is not ideal, but his relationship with James and thick eyebrows has not been cracked, if the Lakers send Wei Shao away at this time, it is not only announcing the failure of the original big deal, but also the ability to face Zhan Mei's two candidates for teammates.
So, with the comeback of thick eyebrows, and the Lakers' other role players also returning to health, the lineup is relatively neat, the Big 3 has been given a chance to set sail again, and management may be a wise choice to give Wei Shao another chance to prove himself. What do you think?