Lakers prefer another player over Zach LaVine

The Los Angeles Lakers are going through the same cycle of always. They look like a legitimate NBA championship contender one day, and then drop the ball against beatable teams the next one.

Darvin Ham might not be the right guy for this job. He has yet to find a lineup that works, and that’s a big concern 30 games into the season, even with the injuries they’ve been through.

So, just like what happens with most teams involving LeBron James, the Lakers are most likely going to go through a roster overhaul at some point in the season. It’s just a matter of who they can pursue.

According to the latest reports, they’re not only interested in trading for Zach LaVine. They have also set their sights on Atlanta Hawks All-Star guard Dejounte Murray.

Lakers To Target Dejounte Murray

“According to Shams Charania from The Athletic, Atlanta Hawks star guard Dejounte Murray is seen as a potential target,“ reported Basket News. “Chicago Bulls wing Zach LaVine has been involved in Lakers trade rumors recently as well.”

Nonetheless, as they may know by now, it’ll be virtually impossible to get either of these players without giving up Austin Reaves, so they’ll have to make an uncomfortable decision at some point:

“Charania notes that the Lakers would most likely have to give up multiple first-round picks and at least one notable player like Austin Reaves to land a player of Murray or LaVine’s caliber,” the report continued.

LeBron Isn’t Pleased With The Roster

Whatever the case, something’s definitely going to happen, and plenty of players are on borrowed time. LeBron has already made it clear that they’re not good enough to compete with the top-tier teams, and that usually leads to multiple moves:

“I think the league’s best team so far is Minnesota, they’re pretty much healthy. OKC, pretty much healthy besides [Josh] Giddey. And Boston, they’re fully healthy,” James said.

The veteran forward also admits that the team hasn’t been healthy this season. That makes it tough to assess what works and what doesn’t. But even at full strength, they might not have what it takes to keep up with the championship contenders:

“I don’t think we’re healthy right now,” James said. “I don’t think we’re where we want to be to compete versus the top teams, and we need to continue to get better, continue to work on our habits. For us, we’re still trying to figure out our situation as far as how we want to continue to approach each game. We’ll be better.”

LeBron James and Anthony Davis have well, but even though they claim to be one of the top duos in the league, they haven’t been able to carry this team to legitimate championship contention.

Perhaps it’s time to assess their status as a so-called elite duo in the league, as empty stats aren’t enough to win championships, and other duos are getting it done despite averaging fewer points or spending fewer minutes on the court.