The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly passed on a deal before the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline that would have sent Russell Westbrook and draft compensation to the Houston Rockets in exchange for John Wall and Christian Wood.

Apparently, it was not the draft picks that gave the Lakers pause. It was luxury tax concerns.

Here's ESPN's Dave McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne on Brian Windhorst's Hoop Collective podcast on Tuesday:

McMenamin: “There was an iteration of the John Wall trade that included Christian Wood that would have involved more money. I’ve been told from other sources in Houston that there was a message that the Lakers were not willing to take on more money.”

Shelburne: “That’s kind of the word around the league that the Lakers were making calls, if there was a trade that made sense, they would do it. I’ve heard it described as ‘maybe half-hearted efforts.’ They would do something if it was low-hanging fruit but they weren’t really willing to feel any pain, whether that was luxury tax money, whether that was more encumberment in the future, whether that was draft compensation.”

Last week, Windhorst also implied there was a Lakers-Rockets trade on the table that involved Wood — an idea that Zach Lowe immediately expressed his enthusiasm for, from a Lakers perspective (I did the same, FWIW).

Surely, this is not what Lakers fans want to hear.

To be fair, the Lakers' liquidity is not directly correlated with the franchise's ~$5 billion valuation. As long as the Buss family isn't interested in putting the team on the market, the valuation doesn't mean anything tangible. The Lakers are a mom-and-pop operation. Their actual spendable cash exists in a family trust, which is shared amongst the various siblings. Their wealth is primarily derived from owning the Lakers, not Silicon Valley or any other enterprise/industry. Just because the Lakers are one of the most recognizable, popular, and valuable brands in the sports world doesn't necessarily mean the organization can write impossibly large checks ad infinitum. Every team has suffered financial losses during the pandemic. To be fair, the Lakers' luxury tax bill is the fifth highest in the NBA.

Still.

As I summarized when re-hashing the decision not to re-sign Alex Caruso for tax reasons, the Lakers have announced multiple lucrative business partnerships since last summer. They have a 20-year, multi-billion-dollar television rights deal. They sell out most home games at premium pricing.

We can debate whether Wood is truly a “winning player.” On paper, though, he would be a seamless fit in Los Angeles, in the present and future. He's a 26-year old, modern stretch-5, averaging 17.6 points and 10.2 rebounds, shooting 37% from three, and on a team-friendly three-year, $41 million contract. Even Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and the 2027 1st rounder wouldn't be an overpay to pry Wood from Houston.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2cAwXlGAL4mGIhLUOXuBmB?si=637dbce073fc4237

The other issue here is inconsistency, in messaging and behavior: The Lakers talk about titles or bust — especially while LeBron is still wearing purple-and-gold — yet aren't willing to spend the extra bucks to maximize their roster (unlike, say, the Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, and Golden State Warriors). They are willing to add Russell Westbrook's $91 remaining million, but not front the bills to keep Caruso. They want to add a buyout player, but — because they didn't offload a veteran at the deadline — will have to eat extra tax costs to waive somebody and free a spot. They allowed LeBron and Anthony Davis to persuade them to acquire Russ, and now don't want their stars to push them into transactions.

Perhaps this all-over-the-place approach shouldn't come as a surprise, considering the murkiness at the top. According to various reporting, we know Jeanie, Rob Pelinka, Magic Johnson, Kurt and Linda Rambis, Tim Miller, LeBron, and Rich Paul are all influential, to some degree, in basketball decision-making. That's a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and too many voices in Jeanie's ear.