After entering the offseason, the Lakers undoubtedly became one of the most active teams in the league, they changed the manager, completed the lineup change, in addition, the Lakers are also peddling their guard Westbrook. According to the latest report of NBA reporter Mitchell Scott, the Lakers have even discussed with the Jazz and Knicks about the three-way trade around Westbrook, Mitchell, Beverley and other players, counting the Pacers, Nets, Spurs and other teams, the Lakers have almost all the teams that may take over Westbrook's contract, but as of now, the Lakers have not made substantial progress with any team on the Westbrook deal. Unwilling to trade, the Lakers are afraid that the bamboo basket will be empty, Pelinka is too hesitant, and James's pressure is not effective.
It is no secret that the Lakers want to trade away Wei Shao, and Wei Shao himself knows this, and when the season is over, especially after James no longer interacts with Wei Shao in public, after James uses the issue of early contract renewal to pressure the Lakers management, almost everyone believes that the Lakers will deal with Wei Shao's contract in this offseason, and they will not bring Wei Shao into the team training camp next season. However, with the passage of time, the outside world is more and more pessimistic about whether the Lakers can successfully send away Wei Shao in this offseason, and from a series of reports during this period, Pelinka is likely to pay a painful price for his hesitation, and the Lakers will also lose the opportunity to compete for the championship next season.
The first is the situation of Nets guard Irving, according to NBA reporter Bergley, the relationship between Irving and the Nets is very good, Irving is fully ready to start the journey next season as a Nets player, no matter where Durant plays in the future, Irving's determination to play for the Nets will not change, and the Nets' subsequent official Twitter rarely posted photos of Irving participating in amateur games, including Kesler Edwards, Royce O'Neal, David Duke, Gray and Alondez Williams both came to watch Irving play, and the Nets are gradually ready to bring Irving back to the team and prepare for next season with Irving, and with Durant's deal difficult to reach, Irving is even less likely to be traded.
In addition, the Rockets' attitude towards their guard Eric Gordon has changed a lot, according to the NBA reporter Scott's report, the Rockets are not in a hurry to trade away this "substitute guard" who still has a 2-year 40 million DOLLAR contract, Gordon received favor from many teams including the Lakers and 76ers in the draft, the Rockets began to feel the interest of other teams in Gordon, and their asking price for Gordon is no longer limited to a first-round draft pick. At the same time, they see Gordon as a positive asset on the court and a mentor to young players off the court, and the Rockets have repositioned Gordon, and they have even begun to consider refusing to send Gordon this offseason, but wait until the end of next season to deal with him as an expired contract.
That is to say, the time is dragging down little by little, the Lakers' goals are decreasing, according to the previous NBA reporter Woj's report, the Lakers are very ambitious, they not only want to get Irving, they also want to get Hield or Gordon at the same time. However, the Lakers have always been reluctant to send two first-round draft picks in the transaction of Irving, about Gordon, the Lakers' aggressiveness is not enough, Pelinka hesitates to hesitate, the result is that Irving and Gordon will most likely not leave the team, busy for half a day, the Lakers face a bamboo basket to hit the water an empty dilemma. So it seems that the Lakers' target on the surface is only Hield, and the Pacers' current asking price for Hildeway's less interchange is also two first-rounders.
In addition, this is the Asking Price that the Pacers have asked the Lakers in the case of competitors (nets), and once they figure out that the Lakers can't get Irving and don't get Gordon, Hield is their only option, it's hard to imagine that the Pacers won't raise the asking price for Hield. It has to be said that Pelinka is smart and mistaken, and he has no action at the mid-season trading deadline, that is, he believes that in the offseason, Westbrook's expiring contract can be better handled, leaving more assets for the Lakers and bringing more lucrative returns to the Lakers. However, it is clear that not only did Pelinka fail to get his wish, but the more the deal dragged on, the greater the losses were for the Lakers.
James's efforts seem to be in vain, the relationship between him and Wei Shao has dropped to the freezing point, it seems difficult to continue to cooperate between the two sides, and James has not renewed his contract with the Lakers in advance for the time being, his purpose is obvious, James hopes that the Lakers can feel his desire to reinforce the idea, but the Lakers also grasp the mentality that James wants to stay, they consider this and that, which makes James's pressure seem to become useless. All in all, if the Lakers do nothing, they're even considered another team vying for a play-off spot next season.