The Los Angeles Lakers opted to stand pat at the NBA trade deadline despite being named in virtually every rumor in the weeks leading up to it. L.A. showed interest in a number of players, including Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray and Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine. However, they chose to stick with what they have, in part due to a belief in the group surrounding LeBron James and also in part due to the ability to have three first-round draft picks available to trade this summer.
Through it all, the NBA world wondered what James was hoping for the Lakers to do. With his impending free agency this summer, it was questioned if the Lakers would do what he wanted in an effort to keep him or stay vigilant to preserve the future assets of the team after he’s gone. James never openly stated what he wanted the team to do and reiterated his belief in the roster as constructed.
However, it was always a possibility that LeBron would have preferred the Lakers make some type of trade. And now, it’s being reported that there were two targets in particular that James would have wanted L.A. to pursue, according to Sam Amick, Anthony Slater and Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
