Los Angeles Lakers: 4 trades team should make before deadline

Clearly in win-now mode since the arrival of LeBron James, here are four deals the Los Angeles Lakers should make prior to the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline.

Things were going rather swimmingly for the Los Angeles Lakers. After stumbling out of the blocks to a 2-5 start, the Lakers responded impressively by registering a 20-14 record following their blowout 127-101 win over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day.

Unfortunately, the groin injury sustained by LeBron James during that win has sent the Lakers into a spiral, having dropped 10 of their past 16 outings. As a result, the Lakers have tumbled from fourth to ninth in the Western Conference standings, with James still sidelined for the time being.

Naturally, bringing aboard a player of James’ accomplishments is going to bring with it an incredible increase in scrutiny and expectations. Overall, while his absence has been a nightmare, it has allowed the Lakers’ front office and coaching staff to more closely analyze the remaining players on the roster.

Since James went down, the Lakers have ranked 24th in offensive rating, 18th in points per game and dead last in 3-point percentage. In fact, the Lakers are 29th overall for the season in shooting from long range, converting at just a 33.4 percent clip. Encouragingly, they have ranked fourth in defensive rating since James’ injury, and seventh overall for the season.

Considering the manner in which the league is continuing to trend, the lack of quality perimeter shooting is clearly an area that the Lakers should be seriously addressing when considering James’ greatest strengths as a player. As an example, the Lakers are 8-0 this season in games played by James where they have converted at least 14 triples.

Furthermore, the search for a second superstar to sidekick James in the Lakers quest for championship glory is another pressing matter for both fans and the front office alike.

So with just over a week until the Feb. 7 trade deadline, here are four trade propositions that would help balance out the Lakers’ roster into far more formidable contenders.