NBA: 4 teams that improved the most after a chaotic trade deadline

Los Angeles Lakers

Players acquired: D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba, Devon Reed, Rui Hachimura 

The Los Angeles Lakers needed to make a big move at the NBA Trade Deadline and that’s exactly what they did, on multiple fronts. You can’t help but be impressed with the job this front office has done over the last few days. The Lakers looked like a team dead in the water just a few days ago and now there’s a sense of…optimism?

The Lakers added six players over the last couple of weeks that could go a long way in ressurecting this team’s season. It started with a move for Rui Hachimura and expanded to moves that acquired D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba, and Davon Reed. The Lakers have life once again.

Whether or not this all works out for the Lakers remains to be seen but you at least have to credit this team for trying. And that’s all that LeBron James and Anthony Davis could’ve asked for heading into the deadline. You can’t say that the Lakers haven’t improved. It’s just a matter of figuring out by how much.