Despite their win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves at a mere 20-21 halfway through the season.
This is not the situation head coach Darvin Ham and Co. wanted to be in after earning a surprise trip to the Western Conference Finals a season ago.
It has also led to widespread rumors that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is looking to pull off a blockbuster deal ahead of the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline.
Ham touched on this with reporters following Monday night’s impressive win over Oklahoma City. His take was rather frank and pretty darn surprising.
“People talk about trades and this and that. No one’s sugarcoating anything. You have an opportunity to get better, you’re going take advantage of it. But that said, what we have in that locker room, we just need to buckle down, focus, take care of the details. We have more than enough in that locker room to make some things happen.”
Los Angeles Lakers’ Darvin Ham on trade rumors, via ESPN
The Lakers have been primarily linked to Atlanta Hawks All-Star guard Dejounte Murray. He is said to be on the NBA trade block and would represent a marked upgrade in the backcourt.
Related: 3 trades the Los Angeles Lakers should consider
The issue here for Los Angeles is a lack of assets. The earliest this team can move a first-round pick is in 2029 due to the NBA’s Stepien Rule. Meanwhile, there is not a lot of young talent on this roster outside of Austin Reaves. Is he a needle-mover for a team like the Hawks? We’re not too sure.
What we do know is that Los Angeles will be out there and proactive on the NBA trade front over the next three weeks. Ham’s comments only add more intrigue to this.