According to analyst Chris Broussard, the Lakers missed an opportunity of getting better by adding veteran Kyle Lowry to their squad.
This year’s trade deadline saw many stars getting traded to new teams. Among many, Kyle Lowry was one of the stars rumoured to get acquired by one of the contending teams. Along with Philadelphia and Miami, Los Angeles Lakers joined later on to showcase their interest in the Toronto point guard.
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Despite being so heavily expected to part ways with the Raptors, Lowry ended up not getting traded. Some analysts thought of this as a blessing in disguise for the Lakers. Whereas, analysts like Chris Broussard thought that this was a great opportunity that the Lakers failed to capitalise on.
It was said that the reigning champions were offering Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Talen Horton-Tucker in exchange for Kyle Lowry. Chris believed that the Lakers would be the prohibited favourites in the West with Lowry as their primary point guard. He explained:
“If the Lakers could’ve got Kyle Lowry for Schröder, KCP & the sticking point was them not wanting to throw in a 20-year-old THT, they made a mistake. If they get Lowry they’re the prohibitive favourites in the West. And then in many peoples’ eyes, I think, they’d become the favourites in the entire league.”
Chris Broussard explains why the Lakers need to worry about the present while trading for Kyle Lowry
All the three guards that Los Angeles were supposedly offering for the 6-time All-Star were great players. But none of them would have the impact the way Kyle Lowry does. Chris Broussard explained that instead of worrying about the future, LAL needs to be worrying about their present with their superstar LeBron James being 36-years-old. Broussard said:
“This is nothing against THT. He is a nice, young player. But for the Lakers, it is about winning now. It is about maximising LeBron James’ present. He’s 36, he’s in his 18th year and been hurt seriously in two of his three seasons with the Lakers. How much longer do you have with him? You don’t know.”
“So I’m not worried about a 20-year-old, who doesn’t project to me, to be a star down the line. Even if he does, I’m not worried about the future. I’m worried about winning as many rings as I can with LeBron right now. And their depth still would’ve been fine.”
The Los Angeles Lakers are without the likes of their two best players, who have been sidelined with injures. With less than 30 games to go, the rest of the Lakers will have to manage and finish the season strong until their leaders remain out.
As of Kyle Lowry, he’s averaging 17.2 points, 7.4 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game. He’s been leading a very underwhelming Toronto team with a poor 18-27 record, to place them 11th in the Eastern Conference. Only time will tell us about Lowry’s future and what team he ends up in.
