Lakers sit out trade market, then lose fourth in a row to the Sixers
LOS ANGELES » Some 30 feet to the right of the Lakers bench, Rob Pelinka perched in a high chair on a viewing podium, surveying his works.
The Lakers general manager has done his share of swinging big deals in the two years since he fully took the reins of the organization, and Thursday’s trade deadline showed him again making a defining choice: making no deals at all.
The Lakers, who were on the court against e Philadelphia 76ers, are going to be the team for the foreseeable future — for better or worse. Even though Thursday night was ugly for most of the evening, until the Lakers made a late spirited comeback in a 109-101 defeat to the Sixers, their fourth loss in a row, holding onto all their cards demonstrated how much the Lakers believe that things will turn around for them.
Former Laker Danny Green had 28 points to lead Philadelphia.
“There’s a strong belief in the team that we have here when we’re at full strength,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel, who said only “five percent” of his energy was focused on the deadline. “And there’s a strong belief that we can win enough games to keep the ship afloat so to speak while Anthony (Davis) and LeBron (James) are out.”
Major moves were on the table: The Lakers were one of the teams reportedly involved in talks with the Toronto Raptors for 35-yearold guard Kyle Lowry, a deal that would have required extracting a chunk of their starting lineup including Dennis Schröder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The reported sticking point, according to multiple media outlets, was 20-year-old Talent Horton-Tucker, who the Lakers believe has tremendous promise, but whom they’ll also have to pay this offseason to keep.
Some of those players had redeeming individual performances, but the stillstruggling team didn’t validate the front office’s confidence short of their stars for much of Thursday’s game. The Lakers couldn’t stay in front of Philadelphia’s 3-point shooters, nor could they keep control of the ball, coughing up turnovers. A 35-17 third quarter swing for the Sixers was a particularly revealing stretch.
James and Davis aren’t expected back for weeks yet — with Vogel saying pregame that Davis was “a ways away” from returning from the right calf injury that has sidelined him since Feb. 14. Aside from a buyout market that could land a difference-maker, the Lakers’ top priority is simply getting healthy.
Early hopes Thursday rested on Schröder, who has been the lead tempo-setter on offense since James’ injury. He was aggressive early, and Caldwell-Pope found the bottom of the net early too as the Lakers battled to a 54-all tie at halftime.
The Lakers frontcourt got a much-needed boost from the return of Marc Gasol, who was active from the start: After missing nine straight games under the COVID-19 protocols, he threw an assist for the Lakers’ second bucket of the game, then shot the third from behind the 3-point line. But the Lakers were reluctant to lean on him after such a long layoff, riding out a 15-minute restriction through just early in the third quarter.
At least one player that the Lakers have traded away made them hurt: After receiving his championship ring alongside Dwight Howard pregame, Green led the scoring charge. The 33-yearold even pulled up from far behind the arc at times, all too happy to burn his former team who dealt him for Schröder in November.
Howard had a much shorter night, earning two technical fouls for jawing with Montrezl Harrell by the first-quarter buzzer.