Lakers Insider Says Franchise Will Waste Next Season If They Don’t Make A Trade

The Los Angeles Lakers are yet to make a trade this offseason and team insider Jovan Buha thinks they must get something done before the deadline next year. Buha recently held a Q and A session on YouTube, where a Lakers fan asked him if 2024-25 will be a wasted season and he felt that would be the case if they don't make a trade.

"I wouldn't say that, I would say if the Lakers don't make a trade, it's a wasted season, in my opinion," Buha said. "Just because I don't think, as currently constructed, they are a legitimate championship contender with the current roster. So, if they don't go for it and trade at least one of the picks, that, to me, is a wasted season.

"I'm going to tentatively say, the opportunity is still there for them to significantly improve the roster or at least marginally improve the roster," Buha continued. "I think with where they are at, every incremental amount matters... I'm not quite with you on the pessimism yet but if it is February 8th and I am doing a live stream or a podcast and the Lakers have not made a trade, I will say it's a waste of the season."

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Buha did add a caveat that if the Lakers are on a 60-win pace at the deadline with the likes of D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Max Christie having very impressive campaigns, he won't obviously call it a waste. If they are on that kind of a pace, they would be a contender, but I don't see them being that good with no trades.

The Lakers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets in five games last season after finishing with a 47-35 record, and are basically bringing back the same roster. The big changes that have been made, have been in the coaching staff, with JJ Redick replacing Darvin Ham as head coach.

While the Lakers seem confident that Redick is the right man for the job, I am not too optimistic about a guy with no previous coaching experience doing well right away in the NBA. It might take him a while to get to grips with the job and that alone might lead to 2024-25 being a wasted season.

As far as the roster goes, the only notable changes are that Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie have left in free agency while Dalton Knecht and Bronny James have arrived via the draft. With just those moves, you could argue the Lakers are worse off now than they were a year ago.

Bronny is not going to have much of an impact next season and while Knecht might, is he going to perform better than someone like Prince as a rookie? Probably not.

From the outside, the Lakers seem to be banking on the likes of Reaves and Christie taking big steps next season, and on Redick being a big upgrade on Ham. I don't think that's the right approach, especially considering the fact that LeBron James is now 39 years old.

The Lakers do not have a big title window because of LeBron's age and they need to make win-now moves while he's still playing at a high level. The 20-time All-Star averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game last season and it'd be a shame if the Lakers keep wasting the last few years of his career by not being aggressive in the trade market.

Related: NBA Insider Hammers Lakers For Screwing Up LeBron James-Anthony Davis Era

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