Lakers, Knicks Make No Trades at Deadline Despite Rumors; Will Focus on Buyouts
Despite their recent struggles, the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks did not make any trades before Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers plan on exploring the buyout market following the deadline.
Marc Berman of the New York Post added that the Knicks have one roster spot remaining and "can be a player" in the buyout market as well.
Despite having won a championship two years ago and being anchored by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers are a disappointing 26-30 this season and stuck in ninth place in the Western Conference.
Some of the Lakers' issues can be attributed to James and AD missing significant time due to injury, but they haven't really found their stride with both players healthy in recent games either.
L.A. has lost two games in a row and six of its past eight, including an embarrassing 107-105 loss Wednesday to a Portland Trail Blazers team that traded CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Robert Covington, and was without Damian Lillard due to injury.
While the Lakers conceivably would have liked to have improved on the trade market, they didn't have many enticing pieces to offer.
The only player on their roster besides James or Davis who is guaranteed to be under contract next season is Talen Horton-Tucker, who has struggled this season.
The Lakers would seemingly like to move on from Russell Westbrook as well amid his inefficiency and turnover issues, but no team would be willing to take on his $44 million salary and $47 million player option for next season.
While the Lakers are perhaps the biggest disappointment in the NBA since they have championship aspirations, the Knicks may not be too far behind.
New York was one of the league's most pleasant surprises last season, reaching the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, but it has been a different story this season.
At 24-31, the Knicks are 12th in the East and wouldn't even be part of the postseason play-in tournament if the season ended today.
While RJ Barrett is a promising offensive player with star potential, Julius Randle has taken a big step back from his breakout 2020-21 season, and veterans like Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier and Alec Burks haven't performed to the level most expected.
Also, the Knicks acquired Cam Reddish from the Atlanta Hawks for Kevin Knox and a first-round pick, but it has been a disastrous move, as Reddish has barely been part of the rotation, averaging 10.0 minutes per game in five appearances.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported early Thursday morning that the Lakers, Knicks and Toronto Raptors had discussed a three-team trade that would have sent Reddish and Burks from the Knicks to the Lakers, Goran Dragic and draft picks from the Raptors to the Knicks, and Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel from the Lakers and Knicks, respectively, to the Raptors.
Neither the Lakers nor the Knicks ended up getting anything done, but based on the amount of movement there was at the deadline, there should be plenty of useful players bought out and available without having to give up assets.
