The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals last season, so expectations were skyrocketing heading into their 2023-24 campaign. The misconception of the Lakers having one of the best offseasons in the league has been magnified as their issues have continued percolating 40 games into the season.
It seems inevitable that Los Angeles will make more before the trade deadline, but finding answers to the team's looming questions remains a mystery.
Just a couple of weeks ago, there were murmurs head coach Darvin Ham was on the hot seat, but those rumors were shut down. The diehard and passionate Lakers fanbase must realize that Ham is not the problem, but how their players are meshing aside from the star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Ham continues to have the challenge of finding the perfect lineup combinations that will propel them to a top-six seed at the very least.
Plausible rumors will continue to surround the Lakers until February 8th, but here are two players likely to be shipped out by the trade deadline.
D'Angelo Russell
One can argue D'Angelo Russell was re-signed by the Lakers in the offseason because he was expected to function as salary filler in a trade. With James entrenched as Los Angeles' primary playmaker and Austin Reaves and fellow free agent signee Gabe Vincent set to play a lot of point guard, the assumption was Russell would be expendable.
Russell had a decent start to the year but has since been inconsistent even as a scorer, supposedly one of his strong suits. Though in the starting lineup for opening night, Ham has toggled his opening five and full rotation almost since 2023-24 tipped off, with Russell at times coming off the bench. He's been starting in the backcourt next to Reaves for the last four games, including Saturday's dispiriting home loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Russell's subpar defensive capabilities aren't going away, so the Lakers must search for a point guard who is a better facilitator but can also be an adequate defender. Someone like Dennis Schroder from last season's team could be an interesting trade target for Rob Pelinka.
Rui Hachimura
Rui Hachimura was a true revelation in the 2023 playoffs, but his success has not carried over to this season. Similar to Russell, Hachimura's strengths are his offensive prowess and ability to put up points in a hurry, but he hasn't come close to replicating his postseason impact while struggling to stay healthy.
Despite his injury issues and low-level impact thus far, Hachimura's contract is readily movable and he still offers some positional and stylistic flexibility—not to mention a sliver of remaining upside—at age 25. If a franchise does pursue Hachimura, it must have high belief in him because he is signed until 2026. With Davis playing center full-time and James normally slotting in at power forward, Hachimura does not seem like a good fit with the Lakers as currently constructed.
Expect to hear his name in trade rumors until the deadline comes and goes on February 8th.
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