The Los Angeles Lakers do not look like much of an improved team from last season to this one. The organization had hoped that a new head coach would be able to lift a similar roster led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis to a better result than last year’s first-round exit.
However, 24 games in, the Lakers have a middling 13-11 record, have the 26th-ranked defense in the NBA and have the 14th-best offense in the league. None of those numbers inspire confidence for any sort of postseason run, especially in a dense Western Conference.
This leaves the Lakers with a big decision as to what they do at this season’s trade deadline if they continue to be a middle-of-the-pack team.