Lakers Trade Rumors: LA Should Not Pursue Taj Gibson at Deadline

The Los Angeles Lakers need to stop what they're doing and get it through their heads that now is not the time to add talent.

Sean Deveney of Sporting News reported last week that the Lakers have shown interest in Chicago Bulls power forward Taj Gibson.

"In recent weeks, he [Gibson] has not played with the energy for which he has been known, and there has been speculation that he is frustrated with the addition of Nikola Mirotic and Pau Gasol (though his playing time has not changed much)," he wrote.

While his drop in minutes per game is negligible—from 28.7 last season to 28.4 this year—it's clear that his role is different. He averaged 13.0 points and took 10.9 shots per game last season. Now he's taking just 8.6 shots and scoring just 10.6 points.

According to TurnerSportsPR, NBA legend Reggie Miller thinks Gibson has truly taken one for the team:

Gibson would certainly start on this Lakers team. That's not a knock against forwards Ed Davis, Tarik Black, Jordan Hill and Robert Sacre, as they have done their best to make up for the big loss of rookie Julius Randle early in the season.

Hill and Davis have been quite good. Black has shown flashes of promise. Sacre is nothing special but solid enough off the bench, if nothing else.

However, Gibson represents a true upgrade. He hustles, plays solid defense and has nice touch around the rim. He's a career 48.4 percent shooter in just under 25 minutes per game. That type of production would help this current roster.

The current roster doesn't need help, though.

At 13-40 just hours before the NBA's All-Star festivities get underway, the Lakers need to be blown up. Kobe Bryant is out for the year. With one year left on his contract, Bryant needs talent around him to compete in 2016. This current squad can't do that.

Now is the time to deal away the likes of Hill, Sacre, Jeremy Lin (guard), Wayne Ellington (guard), Wesley Johnson (forward) and others. This would unload salary and allow young guns like Black and Jordan Clarkson (guard) to gain more experience.

Acquiring Gibson would effectively block Black from getting more minutes. Gibson is also under contract through 2016 at a total cost of $17.45 million, per Spotrac.

That means he'd also block Randle from playing big minutes next season while limiting the salary-cap room general manager Mitch Kupchak needs to attract marquee free agents to Hollywood this offseason.

Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders also recognizes that the money is a huge issue:

In any other season, targeting Gibson would be a smart move for the Purple and Gold. But this isn't a normal year. The Lakers are talentless and going nowhere fast. It's time to stockpile for the immediate future by dealing the few assets they have and getting ready to make a splash in the offseason.

Guys like Jimmy Butler (guard), Goran Dragic (guard), Marc Gasol (center), Draymond Green (forward) and Greg Monroe (forward) would provide far more value next season.

Gibson is a cap hit, but he'll also cost something to obtain. The aforementioned names will only cost money—admittedly, large sums of it.

The final knock against bringing in Gibson is that it would probably improve the Lakers. Why is this an issue? Well, the Lakers only get to keep their pick in Round 1 of the 2015 NBA draft if it falls within the top five. Otherwise, the Phoenix Suns will get the pick as compensation for the Steve Nash trade from several years ago.

If that's not motivation to tank, then it's hard to identify what is.

It's time for the Lakers to wave the white towel and surrender the rest of the way.

Now is a great time to see what the team has in its younger talent, while also stockpiling cap room and picks to make waves over the next several months.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter @kennydejohn.