Lakers stand pat at trade deadline as NBA rattles and shakes

EL SEGUNDO — An hour before the trade deadline, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were facing the media side-by-side.

James was asked how he received news that Andre Iguodala had just been traded to, and agreed to an extension with, the Miami Heat — his former team that now appears to be gearing to make a run at the title.

“How do I handle that news?” he said. “I don’t know, I mean, I saw it and was like, ‘OK.’”

As the NBA scrambled itself around them on deadline day, the Lakers sat back and watched, standing pat with the second-best record (38-11) in the league. There was noise but no moves, even as would-be contenders reshuffled their decks to try to solidify their title chances.

The Clippers traded for Marcus Morris out of New York. The Heat traded for Iguodala. The Lakers’ Thursday night opponent, the Rockets, made some of the most dramatic moves of all, sending out franchise center Clint Capela to add 6-foot-7 Robert Covington.

James found himself mostly reacting to the outside moves: He liked Miami’s move for Iguodala, who he said “helps them right away” because he brings “championship DNA.” The Lakers will learn right away how they can handle the Rockets, who now are likely to play most of the time without a traditional center.

“They’re already shooting 45, 50 threes a game,” he said. “Now they’re going to go to 60, 65 threes. That creates challenges for everyone in the league because you have to be on your toes and guarding a guy who is averaging almost 40, and guarding a guy who has averaged triple-doubles in seasons before. So it creates a lot more space for (Russell Westbrook) and (James) Harden.”

Having a morning shootaround on the day of the trade deadline might seem unusual, but Frank Vogel said he thought it was most important to give the Lakers a day off on Wednesday, following an emotionally exhausting week-and-a-half. Even though the team has won two straight, earlier in the week multiple players reported to the medical staff that they were feeling “worn down.”

So the Lakers took off Wednesday, and decided to shoot around the morning before their next game. James said it wasn’t awkward or tense, even as players who were mentioned in rumors were mingling around. Davis said phone alerts had popped up, but they had not been the source of much discussion among the team.

“I mean, obviously everyone has the ESPN app and the NBA app, so it comes to your phone,” Davis said. “So we don’t go out, well, I don’t go out checking for it. We don’t, ‘Did you guys see this trade, this is happening.’ We haven’t done that.”

There was plenty of smoke. Multiple reports cited that Kyle Kuzma was a potential trade chip in a deal for Morris, who would’ve commanded several other player salaries to make the deal work. Danny Green was mentioned as a possible trade candidate in machinations for Morris. Yahoo Sports also mentioned that the Lakers had fielded calls for Alex Caruso.

None of it came to pass as the noon deadline ticked over. All three players were in morning shootaround, when it was already anticipated the Lakers could stand pat.

James and Davis, who acknowledged working hand-in-hand with general manager Rob Pelinka during the summer when the team was being constructed, were more cagey when asked if they played a role in any of the deadline decisions: “I think that’s a Rob question,” said James.

Pelinka was not available to speak to media on Thursday afternoon following the deadline.

The Lakers have a full 15 roster spots filled, but could look at the buyout market in the coming weeks. The New York Times reported that J.R. Smith would receive a workout with the team, and the Lakers have been linked to a potential return of point guard Darren Collison, who abruptly retired over the summer.

Until then, the Lakers were simply following along.

“You know honestly, just like everybody else that follows the NBA,” Vogel said. “This team did that, that team did this. It’s interesting. What are they trying to do? What do they look like now? It’s not too different from what the best of the basketball world is doing.”

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