The Los Angeles Lakers entered the NBA season under intense scrutiny and high expectations. With the arrival of first-time head coach JJ Redick and the historic pairing of LeBron James and his son Bronny as the league’s first father-son duo, the spotlight has been firmly on the franchise.
Despite a promising start, the Lakers have faced challenges, slipping in form but managing to overcome rough patches. Currently sitting in the seventh seed of the Western Conference with a 20-17 record, the Lakers may not be at the level they aspire to, but LeBron James is confident the team has found its identity.
“I think [we’ve found an identity],” James said during an appearance on the GoJo and Golic show. “I think our identity is, defensively, we want to bring physicality to the game. Make teams try to do something that they do not like to do”.
James emphasized the importance of ball movement, making it clear that they still have a lot of room for improvement. “I feel like we have so much more room to improve. We’re not the team I believe we’re gonna be once February and March hit. But I do like our chances, and we just gotta continue to put the work in. That’s all that matters”.
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers walks on the court during the third quarter of the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Will the Lakers make another roster move?
With the trade deadline looming on February 6, speculation is swirling about whether the Lakers will make additional moves to bolster their roster. So far, the team’s only trade sent D’Angelo Russell and Maxwell Lewis to the Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney–Smith and Shake Milton, both of whom have yet to make a significant impact.
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Former Laker Carmelo Anthony has added his voice to the discussion, suggesting Jimmy Butler would be an ideal fit for the Lakers alongside James and Anthony Davis.
“I’m sending Jimmy to the Lakers’ best-fit Lakers,” Anthony said on his show 7PM in Brooklyn. “You got a veteran team, you got veteran guys on your team. Bron knows how to f– with you, he knows what you gonna bring to the team”.
Anthony elaborated on Butler’s potential role at the Lakers, being a great contribution to the defense. “They need defense, you could bring that, you bring toughness and you can go get it. Bron don’t want to have to keep going and get it all. Like AD is going out there doing what he’s doing. You put Jimmy alongside!” Anthony added.