A modest trade deadline change was made to the Los Angeles Lakers. The franchise kept its commitment to be aggressive in the market and as a result, four reinforcements were added for the remainder of the campaign.
The Angelino squad added D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Mo Bamba within hours.
In Kendrick Perkins’ opinion, the Lakers have moved up the ranks in the playoff race in the West.
“I loved the exchanges they made. And Rob Pelinka has finally done his job. I like D’Angelo’s arrival, as he is a smart athlete who has been shooting very well this season.” Kendrick said.
“Malik is a court spacer who is not intimidated by anything, while Jarred is a defensive force. These are things that were missing from this team.” Kendrick added.
The Lakers started the season with the prospect of being a title contender, but were quickly thrown into harsh reality.
The team found itself with a very limited roster, poor pitchers and physical problems. It has won only 25 of 56 games so far and, with that, occupies the dismal 13th position in the West.
“I had already liked the acquisition of Rui Hachimura , before. And I can say now that, most of all, I love the direction that Rob is taking the franchise. They will qualify for the playoffs, certainly, with the reinforcements. But not only that.” Kendrick said.
“My advice to all teams in the heads of the West is, in short, avoid facing them.” he added.
Kendrick has believed that the reformed team can be more than a supporting player in the knockout stage. However, he doesn’t think it’s absurd to think of the Californians winning two best-of-seven series.
“I thought they were destined to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, but that has changed. Now, I can already see them in a conference final with this cast.” Kendrick said.
