Following last season’s disappointing – and, frankly, embarrassing – campaign, the Lakers replaced former head coach Frank Vogel with Davin Ham and revamped their supporting cast with younger and more athletic players. On paper, the Lakers entered the 2022-23 season looking better than last season’s group, considering half of last season’s roster is out of the league.
But these Lakers would love to have had last season’s start. Instead, they began the season 2-10, with two separate five-game losing streaks amid a brutal opening slate. They rebounded, going 12-6 over their next 18 games, but now find themselves in another skid, losing three straight games and dropping to 13th in the West.
Worst of all, Anthony Davis, who hasn’t been able to stay healthy since the team’s 2020 championship run, is hurt again. He was playing arguably the best basketball of his career until suffering a right stress reaction injury in his foot last week against Denver. The Lakers announced he will be out indefinitely, with The Athletic’s Shams Charania reporting Davis will miss at least four weeks.
Hanging over everything is the Lakers’ activity on the trade market, which has been the dominant storyline of their season. Will they make a move? Will they stand pat? Will they trade both picks? Just one pick? Is Russell Westbrook, now a sixth man, actually too valuable to trade? Will they only trade for a third star? Is the season worth salvaging? How does Davis’ injury affect their approach?
These are the questions the front office is debating over the next few weeks ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline. They most likely will only make a small move to upgrade the frontcourt, if that. But there remain more questions than answers with this group, as has been the case for much of the season.
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