Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball did not hold back and said that the trade rumors before the deadline in February led to their team's downfall in the 2018-19 NBA season.
The Lakers were poised to make the playoffs this season, especially after acquiring LeBron James in the offseason. Los Angeles looked like a playoff team in December when they blew the Golden State Warriors out during their Christmas Day showdown. However, the they went on a downward spiral since the start of 2019.
While injuries also played a huge part in their collapse, Ball admitted in an interview with House of Highlights that the trade rumors were also a big factor. It can be remembered that the Lakers were engaged in talks with the New Orleans Pelicans about a trade for Anthony Davis.
Lonzo was counting down until the end of the Trade Deadline. đ pic.twitter.com/eEbgNfiMZd
â House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) April 17, 2019
The Lakers wanted to go all in for Davis before the trade deadline. There were reports that they were willing to give up Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, Josh Hart and multiple first-round picks in exchange for AD, who wants out of New Orleans.
No trade materialized before the deadline, and the young players mentioned in trade rumors remained with the Lakers aside from Zubac. Zubac was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with Michael Beasley in exchange for Mike Muscala.
The Lakers looked like a different team after the All-Star break, and they continuously fell out of playoff contention. Los Angeles eventually ended up with a 37-45 record, which is only good for 10th place in the stacked Western Conference.
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