Lakers Fans Will Hate the Latest Trade Deadline Update by NBA Insider

The Los Angeles Lakers barely escaped with a win on Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets to improve to 22-17 for the season. In the uber-competitive Western Conference, the Lakers will likely continue to be in the play-in mix throughout the season.

That is why Lakers fans are hoping for GM Rob Pelinka and the front office to make a move before the February 6 trade deadline to help separate them from the rest of the West. According to the latest reporting by The Athletic's Jovan Buha, that is less likely to happen now than it was before.

After the game on Friday night, Buha reported his latest insights about what he expects the Lakers to do at the deadline. The fans will almost certainly not like what he had to say.

Lakers Reportedly Looking for "Smaller" Trades

Buha said that the Lakers are trending more toward making a smaller move. Instead of using their first-round picks, Los Angeles is now reportedly more likely to use their second-round picks in a potential trade.

"My sense lately, that I've been hearing, has been trending more toward them making a smaller move and probably using second-round draft capital..."

- Jovan Buha, The Athletic

This means that the Lakers will presumably not be able to land a true difference-maker. To get a starting-caliber player or a quality role player, at least a protected first-round pick is generally needed.

Perhaps the Lakers already made calls and tested the market to see who they can acquire with their draft assets. There is a chance that the players who are truly available aren't worth giving up significant future assets.

At the same time, it's hard to imagine that players like Cam Johnson or Collin Sexton wouldn't be available for a first-round pick if the Lakers were interested. Los Angeles keeping its powder dry for the deadline after a quiet offseason is certainly not going to make the fanbase happy.

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