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The Los Angeles Lakers are a young team showing a lot of promise for a bright future. The team has talented players like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma which has fans and the Lakers' brass excited about the years to come, but the players on the current squad aren't without significant distractions about potential moves on the horizon.
Rumors continue to circulate about the team targeting big-name free agents come July, and the only way that can happen is if the Lakers part ways with some players that have deals that go beyond this season. The fact moves need to be made eventually has apparently frustrated and distracted a few players on the roster, according to veteran center Andrew Bogut via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“Pouting? Possibly. Guys are frustrated,” veteran center Andrew Bogut said of the Lakers as Brandon Ingram sat out because of injuries to his quads. “There are some injuries right now, different rotations. Guys are frustrated, obviously. You would be lying to say that there are guys that are not frustrated on this team.
“Everyone knows what is going on with the salary-cap situation next season and all that. That is just distractions that we can't let affect us. That is part of the league, the business decisions that front offices and coaches make. So if that is distracting guys, that is going to be like that your whole career. That is just the nature of this league.”
Along with the salary-cap situation that Bogut mentions, head coach Luke Walton has continuously been tinkering with the rotation which has impacted players like Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson. Although Randle and Clarkson have both had to adjust to different roles on the team, they've thrived with Clarkson a candidate for NBA Sixth Man of the Year and Randle very production during the limited time he's on the floor.
Despite all the uncertainty surrounding the team as the NBA trade deadline approaches on Feb. 8 and with no telling who will be coming or going after the season, the Lakers are a team on the rise and have become a team that competes night in and night out.
The playoff drought coming to an end is a possibility this season, but there's a lot of basketball left to be played with some potential changes along the way.
