As the NBA trade deadline nears, owners and general managers everywhere are looking at ways to buy or sell to help their teams win now, or get ready for the future. Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss is among the executives who are on trade watch.
In recent memory, the Lakers have been known to make some sort of splash via trade, and there's reason to believe the team will make something happen before Thursday's deadline. In fact, there are rumors about a three-team trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz that would send out Russell Westbrook and bring back D'Angelo Russell, with perhaps other pieces also coming to Los Angeles.
Talking to Melissa Rohlin of FOX Sports Tuesday, Jeanie Buss gave insight on the strategy her team has in regards to weighing the options.
“We’re always looking to improve our roster, but what we will not do is we’re not going to make a deal that sets us back,” Buss said. “Because you could take one step forward and then go two steps back. So, we’re always monitoring everything.”
Sounds simple enough, right? It's probably safe to assume no team wants to make a trade that will set their team back a few years. Given the simplicity of Buss' strategy, it's a little complicated when the current state of her team is considered.
The Lakers are 13th in the Western Conference standings, struggling to stay in contention for the play-in tournament. They have LeBron James playing in the twilight of his career at a high level, and his historic pace, including breaking the NBA's all-time scoring record, is surrounded by a cloud of losses.
The dilemma for Buss and the team management is whether or not to sacrifice the future in an attempt to win now, or hold off and look further down the road. Will this three-team trade go through? Will something else go down?
One thing's for sure: don't look for Buss to make any bad deals.
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