The Los Angeles Lakers making a trade now would be extremely irresponsible

Considering where the Los Angeles Lakers are now in the season, it would be highly irresponsible for them to make a win-now move.

During the offseason, the expectation was that the Los Angeles Lakers were going to make a big trade to alter their roster and give them at least some hope of competing for a championship this season. It never happened.

The narrative quickly pivoted to the Lakers making an early-season trade that would give them a shot to make a move up the Western Conference standings after a slow start. That never happened either.

Thirty-three games into the season and nearly at the midway point of the campaign, the Lakers have been reluctant to make a trade and continue to play the wait-and-see game. However, at this point, I’d argue that the damage has been done and that if the Lakers would move forward to make a win-now trade, it would be massively irresponsible.

The Lakers are 13-20 and ranked 13th in the West standings. They’re also already 2.5 games back of the 10th-seeded Golden State Warriors and are expected to be without Anthony Davis for the foreseeable future.

There is not much hope surrounding the Lakers and a short-sighted trade would only stack one mistake on top of another.

The Los Angeles Lakers are stuck, for now

At least for now, the Lakers are stuck. And. much like last season, they must eat their miscues. Even if the Lakers wanted to make a trade, there likely isn’t a realistic one out there that will drastically change the outcome for the team this season.

With the limited assets that the Lakers have, it would be extremely irresponsible to trade any of their first-round picks for something that is not a guarantee this season. And there isn’t anything on the trade market that would suggest a guarantee.

And it seems as if the front office is beginning to come to that conclusion.

There’s nothing worse than a front office can do than compounding one mistake with another. The Lakers are in a difficult position. They have a roster that is supposed to be a competitor in the West but they have not seen the results that would suggest that.

I guess this is how to explain how bad the Lakers have been this season: the Lakers, who are trying to win, are 13-20. The San Antonio Spurs, who seemingly are trying to tank, is 11-22. 

The Lakers need to admit that they are what they are. They’re a bad team and their mismanagement has not made anything easier for the players or coaching staff. Trading a first-round pick (or more) to simply save face by making the playoffs would be a massive mistake.

Los Angeles made a decision during the offseason and early on in the season to not pull the trigger on a deal. There’s no reason why that decision should change heading into the NBA Trade Deadline.