The Los Angeles Lakers always find themselves in trade rumors before the deadline. Sometimes, they end up with just a few pieces that help them along the margins. Other times, they find themselves with one of the best players in the league, which surprised many. It looks like during this go-around, they may end up with nothing.
The Lakers had interest in De'Andre Hunter before he was traded to the Sacramento Kings. The problem was that they would have to surrender $25 million of their future cap space, eating up the flexibility they want going into the offseason. LeBron James' expiring contract comes off the books after this season, as well as Maxi Kleber and Gabe Vincent. The hope is that they can land a big fish with the flexibility, which is why they didn't make the Hunter trade.
Those big fish could be Peyton Watson, Walker Kessler, Tari Eason, and Jalen Duren, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic, but they're all restricted free agents. They would have the money to lure those kinds of players away from their teams, but the chances are low since those teams could match anything the Lakers offer.
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The Lakers have some picks that they're willing to use in a trade for a wing player, and they've shown interest in both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III from the New Orleans Pelicans. Unfortunately for them, it's going to take more than those picks to get them away from the Pelicans.
Dalton Knecht is one player that they're willing to include in a trade, but it's expected that he won't get the Lakers anything back in significance. They traded him last season for Mark Williams, but the trade was rescinded due to Williams' medical records.
With other teams in pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Lakers could find themselves helping teams create flexibility, which means getting some players that could help them. With just a day remaining until the deadline, anything could happen, but as of now, it might be quiet for the Lakers.