Lakers reportedly declined trading away two key rotational players this offseason

Alex Walsh

Lakers reportedly declined trading away two key rotational players this offseason image

The Lakers have been associated with all sorts of rumors this offseason.

For a while, they were searching for a center, which they were able to get, signing Deandre Ayton after he left the Trail Blazers.

Even superstar LeBron James had been in trade rumors.

The Lakers have made other small moves like signing Marcus Smart, but there was one move they decided not to make this offseason that reports say they had the opportunity to do if they wanted to.

What trade could the Lakers have made?

NBA insider Sean Deveney of Athlon Sports reported that the Lakers had the opportunity to trade two key players who received rotational minutes last season. Those two players are Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt.

Deveney also mentioned that "Still, the feeling around the Lakers is that the team is pretty much set as it is, and that no major trades are forthcoming until the season gets rolling."

The Lakers, who always seem to be in trade rumors, appear almost as close as they can to having a finished roster for next season.

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That doesn't mean they won't make any moves eventually, but they've held off moving players like Vanderbilt and Vincent, who are key salaries and players that would be used in a trade if they were to make a deal.

Vanderbilt missed most of last season, playing just 36 games, but has had promising seasons prior as a key role player.

Vincent had quite a dropoff in production the last two seasons, after averaging a career high 9.4 points with the Heat in the 2022-23 season.

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Alex Walsh

Alex is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. A current Sports Media major at Hofstra University in New York, he is a huge Celtics and NBA fan who gets way too many notifications from NBA insiders on X. He became interested in PDC Darts at the beginning of 2024 and has been obsessed ever since.