On February 16, Beijing time, ESPN's two great names, Dave McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne, talked about some insider information about the potential deal between the Lakers and the Rockets in a podcast show. The Lakers had a chance not to take the first round to send Westbrook away, and they also talked to the Rockets about the Wall + Wood deal.
Shelburne said: "I heard that the Lakers could complete the deal at the cost of a first-round pick, and then even just need to come up with the draft signing swap. I don't know the specifics of this swap. They just have to give Houston some compensation to facilitate the deal, and I think the Lakers need to give even less compensation than people think. In my opinion, the Lakers are not ready to send Westbrook away. ”
This shows that the Lakers missed an opportunity not to take the first round to send away Wei Shao, Wei Shao has struggled so far this season, although the average of 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game seems to be OK, but his shooting ability is bad and the problem of frequent mistakes at key moments has indeed put the Lakers in trouble.
In addition, on the show, McMenamin said that the Lakers and the Rockets had talked about putting Wood in the Westbrook and Wall main deals, but this would involve more money. According to what I got from The Houston sources, the Lakers are reluctant to take on more financial pressure.
Shelburne said: "One of the claims in the league is that the Lakers made the call and they would do it as long as it made a meaningful deal. I've heard people rate the Lakers' level of engagement as 'half-hearted.' They really don't want to suffer anything, whether it's an increased luxury tax, or a heavier payroll burden in the future, or draft pick compensation. In other words, they called, they tried to do something, but didn't feel the sense of urgency you felt from the players after losing to the Bucks and Trail Blazers. ”
So far this season, the Lakers are 26-31, ranking ninth in the West, and if they can't improve their rankings, they are likely to compete for playoff spots through playoffs. According to previous reports, the Lakers ranked first in the league in difficulty for the rest of the schedule.