The Los Angeles Lakers are staying put at the trade deadline. The team fielded a lot of interest in the youth on their roster, but no one wanted the players that were actually available. While general manager Mitch Kupchak wanted to get a deal or two done before the deadline passed, nothing has come to Los Angeles and now he is focused on developing talent for the future.
Kupchak told ESPN.com that the Lakers were not planning on making any trades at the deadline because they could not get deals for the players they wanted to. Kupchak said all of the interest revolved around D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson when the Lakers wanted to trade Roy Hibbert and Brandon Bass instead. While players like Russell and Clarkson have not been playing well this season, the Lakers believe they are poised to do better in the coming future.
"There is an awful lot of interest in our young players, and I don't think it's likely that we'll do anything there," Kupchak said, via ESPN.com. "A lot of the other players are on one-year deals, expiring contracts, which strategically could affect the offseason in terms of cap room and stuff like that. There's a lot of conversation, but I think it's unlikely that anything significant will happen."
If no trade takes place at the deadline, the Lakers have decisions to make with players like Hibbert. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reports that the Lakers have no plans on buying out the contract of Hibbert and will let him play out the remainder of the season with the team. That conflicts what ESPN's Marc Stein reported when he said that Hibbert would likely be a victim of a buyout if not dealt before the deadline.
The Lakers might want to trade Hibbert, but they are only willing to take on contracts that will expire at the end of the season. The team is preparing to have plenty of cap space to work with in the offseason and want big names to put on the roster. They do not intend on messing that plan up at the trade deadline.
If Hibbert becomes available, there are teams that might take interest in acquiring him. The Atlanta Hawks are a team in need of size after the injury to Tiago Splitter. The Boston Celtics have also been looking for size as they hold off on trades for Al Horford and Dwight Howard. If let go, Hibbert will have a landing spot soon.
