Lakers News: Pundit Still Doesn’t Understand Why LA Didn’t Make This Deadline Trade

Even though this most recent free agency period didn't have as many marquee names as usual, there still were some great options for teams that had cap space such as the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers. The likes of Fred Vanvleet, Kyrie Irving and Bruce Brown all were on the open market but your Los Angeles Lakers didn't have the chance to seriously sit down with them and offer a big contract.

They put themselves in a much better financial situation thanks to the huge trades that GM Rob Pelinka and the rest of LA's front office were able to pull off but their top priorities were re-signing Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. D'Angelo Russell also signed a new contract with the purple and gold but his is far shorter and less-guaranteed and amidst the uncertainty of his future. On The Hoop Collective Podcast, ESPN experts Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst took a look back at their trade deadline haul and pondered why they didn't make a move for Mike Conley.

"I still don't understand why they didn't just trade for Michael Conley," said Windhorst. "That's been my point since day one. Conley would be expiring, they'd be in better shape. Part of the Utah trade was trading Russell Westbrook and regardless of he went on and did well with the Clippers but he needed to be off of the Lakers."

D'Angelo Russell made an immediate impact when he touched down in Laker Land for the second time and gave LA fans a breath of fresh air after the failed Russell Westbrook era. Mike Conley also thrived when he joined the Minnesota Timberwolves and LA seems to be happy with their current core so it was a win-win for both sides.

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