Once Lakers Executive VP Jim Buss made some comments about the Los Angeles Lakers standing pat heading into the 2012-12 NBA season recently, the trade buzz in the City of Angels surrounding superstars Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum began to die down. Even though Buss tried to squash any notion of the Lakers making a blockbuster trade in the near future, there’s still a lot of uncertainty swirling around Los Angeles in terms of what the roster may look like when the Lakers take the floor in October.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak addressed the Lakers chances of making a substantial move in the off-season and how they’ll be limited in terms of free agency over the summer with John Ireland and A. Martinez on 710 ESPN:
“I would say it’s unlikely we would do something very major,” said Kupchak. “Something major would only involve a select few players on our team.”
So despite the endless trade rumors involving Gasol and constant speculation of the Lakers revamping the roster with superstar talent before next season, it appears that the team isn’t looking to pull off anything that will drastically change the roster.
With Buss and Kupchak making these comments recently, the future remains uncertain for the storied NBA franchise. There’s been talk of the Lakers potentially looking to move up in the 2012 NBA Draft in order to bring in some young talent. Forwards Quincy Miller and Perry Jones III of Baylor are said to be on the Lakers’ radar.
A minor trade to attain one or two draft picks in the first round of the draft may be possible, but talks of Gasol being dealt in order to acquire these picks may be a stretch at this point in time.
