Beijing time on February 10, less than 28 hours left from the NBA trading deadline, i in many fans looking forward to whether the Lakers can send away Wei Shao through the god operation, the ruthless reality finally shattered the only illusions of Lakers fans, according to the latest news, the Lakers have admitted that last year's offseason trade to Wei Shao is a failed operation, but the embarrassing place is that they have been unable to get rid of Wei Shao in the short term.
According to the news, the Lakers are aware of it, and admit internally that they have been punched in the face, they need to find a way out of Russell Westbrook's contract. A Lakers employee, who was once reserved about the deal, now said in an interview with The Athletic: "I didn't expect it to be so bad." ”
According to The Athletic reporter Bill Oram, multiple sources have said that the Lakers no longer believe that they can win the game at a high level of competition when Westbrook plays side by side with James and Davis, in fact, before the fiasco to the Bucks, the common idea is that the Lakers are unwilling to admit that their summer break has failed. Instead, they prefer to wait until the offseason, when they can also add 2029 first-round picks to the deal, another potential deal for a top-paid player looking for a new home.
But after the crushing defeat to the Bucks, everything seemed to start to change. The atmosphere after the loss suggests the Lakers need more direct action. According to The Athletic reporter Bill Oram, will things get so bad that the Lakers put the 2027 first-round picks into a trade in exchange for the Rockets' John Wall? Even if that means lower returns? Despair has put the Lakers in a difficult situation, and perhaps only despair can get them out of the predicament.
Simply put, the Lakers originally planned to wait until the summer of 2022 to trade Westbrook, but after the fiasco to the Bucks, including many people in the Lakers — anyone understands that without a major lineup change, they don't see the Lakers back on the path to the championship track. And because James and Davis have made it clear they don't want to give up this season, that could prompt the Lakers to dump Westbrook even if they suffer.
Of course, if the Lakers really trade Wei Shao, whether they can eventually exchange for the right players who are helpful to the team, no one knows for the time being, but in other aspects, the Lakers may be able to make small reinforcements first. According to journalist Chris Mannix, Wizards player Spencer Dinwiddie can be traded. Chris Mannix said the Lakers' use of Taren Horton Tucker plus draft picks would have allowed the Wizards to be interested enough to trade Dinwiddie.
This season, Dinwiddie averaged 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, compared to Wei Shao, perhaps Dinwiddie is more likely to usher in a new life in the Lakers and become a life-saving straw for the Lakers this season. As for Tucker, he has proven many times this season that he doesn't deserve the Lakers to see him as the team's future.
In addition, according to Los Angeles correspondent Dan Woike, the Lakers and Paul Millsap's names are linked. The reporter said that the Lakers, who currently play more small-ball lineups, hope to get Millsap to enrich the tactics, but the team lacks enough assets, so the deal is difficult to reach. Although Millsap is difficult to join the Lakers, it also shows that the Lakers actually want an inside line, so Tristan Thompson, who has just been traded by the Kings to the Pacers, may become the target of the Lakers.
NBA journalist Evan Sidery covered the prospects of Pacers center Tristan Thompson on the podcast. He said: "Tristan Thompson will not play any game for the Pacers. I heard he wanted to go to a championship team to compete for a championship before retiring. So, expect Tristan not to travel to the Pacers anytime soon, and he will be bought out. It is worth mentioning that Thompson and James have a very good relationship, and his agents with James and Davis are rich Paul, which means that once Thompson is bought out, the Lakers are very hopeful of taking him.
Therefore, whether the Lakers can eventually trade off Wei Shao. As long as they can successfully grab Dinwiddie and Thompson in the next step, then they still have some hope this season.