The Los Angeles Lakers are much deeper and younger and have a much more balanced roster than they did two weeks ago, thanks to two trades they made in the final hours before the Feb. 9 trade deadline.
Although their current roster, in time, could become a contender once it gels together (likely not until next season though), it may need one more piece in order to do so.
After veteran 3-and-D wing Danny Green was bought out by the Houston Rockets, some Lakers fans felt he may have been the missing piece. But instead of coming to L.A., he decided to join the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that badly needed such a player.
On the podcast “Inside the Green Room,” Green explained why he turned down the opportunity to join the Purple and Gold (h/t Sports Illustrated).
Danny on why he passed on the opportunity to join Lakers in buyout market pic.twitter.com/NdAoPb5aES
— Inside The Green Room (@GreenRoomInside) February 19, 2023
“I don’t think they had the opportunity or the same opportunity with all the wings they brought in and all the people they brought in. I don’t think they were able to say you’ll be in a good opportunity to be on the floor and that we’re for sure going to make the playoffs. So it was very up in the air and it’s a very urgent time for them. They have to win now and they have a lot of pressure doing that in a short amount of time.”
Green was a key member of the 2019-20 Lakers team that won the NBA championship, as he started all 68 of the contests he played in.
He suffered a torn ACL in last spring’s playoffs, so one has to wonder if he will even be the same player again, especially at age 35.
