The fallout from the Lakers’ decision to not make a trade at the deadline will be felt for quite some time moving forward. In not trading any player from the roster, whether it was Russell Westbrook or DeAndre Jordan, the Lakers opted to stand pat and challenge the current roster to win with what they had.
But, obviously, that wasn’t the only motivating factor in the team not making a move. In fact, an irrational belief in the roster they created likely wasn’t even the primary reason for not making any moves. As has been the case multiple times over the last year, the Laker’s motivations may have been tied to the luxury tax.