The Los Angeles Lakers made no moves at the NBA trade deadline this season, meaning that it will be up to LeBron James and Anthony Davis to lead this team in turning things around this year. While both superstars have been outstanding this season, it hasn’t been enough to help the Lakers consistently win.
Of course, leading into the deadline there were a ton of rumors surrounding the Lakers and Davis admitted that it’s basically impossible not to see them online, but he is always kept in the loop by Rob Pelinka.
“It’s hard not to check just on Twitter or something like that, or X,” Davis said. “But for the most part, I’m not really checking and things like that. I got three kids so I don’t really have time to just be on my phone like that. But if something was happening, the front office usually calls me. They send a text, RP, and they just tell me what’s going on. No news, so I figured nothing was probably going to happen.”
Davis and LeBron were never in any danger of being moved, but there are many others whose futures were uncertain. With the Lakers there are always questions about whether it is best to sacrifice future assets to win now, but Davis doesn’t think about that and is simply glad the deadline is in the rear view mirror.
“That’s obviously for the front office to decide what’s best for the team, currently and for the future,” the Lakers big man added. “My job’s to go out there and play with whatever guys are on the team. I don’t really get too involved in 2027, 2028, 2029. My focus is on winning right now. I’m just glad that it’s over. It can kinda be a little wacky around trade deadline time.
“Guys hear their name in rumors and this is gonna happen, it’s not gonna happen. It can kind of be wacky for guys so I’m just glad it’s over with. We are who we are. We have who we have. This is gonna be our team, now. It’s behind us now. We got to figure out how to get some more wins and move up in the standings.”
It is certainly the case on many teams where players hear their names thrown around and it can affect their play. D’Angelo Russell was the most mentioned player in terms of potential deals and he was able to perform through it, but others have struggled during this time of year.
Now, the Lakers must lock in and focus in order to turn this season around. Davis still feels this team has what it takes to challenge anyone and knows the Lakers all want that goal of winning a championship, but admits there are a lot of fixes that need to be made.
“I think we all want to win. For us, right now, it’s just about winning the next game. Can’t look too far ahead in the future,” Davis noted. “Obviously that’s the end goal, is to win every year. But there’s a lot of things that we have to clean up before we start talking about competing for a championship. Obviously, our organization is used to championships. I think everyone in the locker room wants to win a championship.”
Time will tell if the Lakers can find their footing and go on a run, but Davis is determined to do everything in his power to make that happen.
Anthony Davis believes Lakers win 2020 Championship with or without the bubble
Anthony Davis was part of the Lakers’ last championship run in 2020, but some have tried to discredit that run, which Davis vehemently disagrees with.
Davis recently spoke on that championship, noting that the Lakers were already the best team in the league before things got shut down, as well as the fact that every team dealt with the same circumstances so there shouldn’t be any questioning of the validity of the ring.
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