Lakers at the verge of missing the playoffs

Heading into All Star Weekend, the Lakers are struggling and are on the verge of missing this year’s playoffs. Prior to their recent struggles, the NBA trade deadline was right around the corner and many players on the team were rumored to be traded. The most rumored trade around the league had the name of the Lakers written all over it. The Lakers were planning to team up LeBron James with another superstar and that superstar was Anthony Davis of the New Orléans Pelicans. Ultimately, the Lakers’ front office/GM Magic Johnson was willing to give up nearly half the team for Davis. The Lakers offered the Pelicans multiple offers, the best one overall was the package that included Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, Josh Hart, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and 2 first-rounders. No other team in the NBA was willing to give that many for one superstar, only the Lakers. The Pelicans GM Dell Demps was stupid enough to deny all offers from the Lakers, which resulted in no trade from either team. On the bright side, the Lakers bounced back and traded for Reggie Bullock and Mike Muscala, which are decent shooters that will be joining LBJ for the rest of the season. However, the 2 games with the new roster resulted in 2 losses, one to the 76ers by 23 points and the other to the Hawks by 4 points. The Lakers record is now 28-29, meaning they’ve fallen below .500, and if they don’t step up their game after All Star Weekend, they will miss the playoffs. In order to make the playoffs and be at least in the 8th seed, they will have to win 10 of their next 25 games, which is likely, but they need to play with urgency and heart.