EL SEGUNDO – The NBA’s trade deadline came and went Thursday, with the Lakers opting not to make any deals.
A day earlier, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said the Lakers making a trade was “unlikely” but “possible.”
The trade deadline tends to be a busy time for teams trying to make a push for the playoffs or with assets to sell. At 11-44, the Lakers had little incentive to listen to trade offers, although it was believed they would consider offers for veterans such as Nick Young, Roy Hibbert and Brandon Bass.
The organization understandably had no interest in breaking up the young core of D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle.