NBA Rumors: Former Defensive Player Of The Year Believes Trade Talks Hurt Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are out of it and the blame game has started. Even with LeBron James at the helm, the purple and gold simply failed to live up to its target of making the NBA playoffs.

With the focus now shifting to the next NBA season, there are some who cannot help but look back at how things went for the Lakers. Injuries were partly to blame as these affected James and young players such as Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram.

As far as Tyson Chandler is concerned, it was more about the health side that waylaid the Lakers. But like in recent weeks, the one-time NBA champion agreed that trade dialogues were partly to blame, LakersNation.com reported.

“I honestly think, yeah, that was a distraction. It’s always a distraction for every team at that time of the year. But for us, if we have a full cast, it’s not as big a distraction as it was. We got hit by the injury bug,” said Chandler.

The trade talk being mentioned is, of course, the one involving Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. As mentioned in a previous article, the Lakers offered a phalanx of players that included Ball, Ingram, and vets such as Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson among others. With the deal falling apart, it was only to be expected that the players involved were to return with mixed feelings.

Particularly for the veterans who only signed a short-term deal, playing out the remainder of the current NBA season would be at the top of their minds. Returning for another stint would be a long shot with bridges burned. Hence, the trust from within and the needed push for the playoffs totally went haywire – albeit where the Lakers are now today.

Come the 2019-20 NBA season, James will still be around. As to who will join him remains a mystery. Ball could be back, same with Kyle Kuzma. Should he overcome his blood clot issues, Ingram is likely to return as well.

But the real story is the vets. Who will come and who will go? Some are in their prime and likely playing out their last NBA years. Chandler, a late-season signee, could be among the ones leaving Hollywood once the current season wraps up.

The Lakers are in a mess and the task of cleaning it falls on Lakers president of basketball operations Earvin “Magic” Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka. They are targeting stars but that botched trade could factor in – especially for players thinking long term.