LeBron James and Marcus Smart deal with the reality of the NBA trade deadline

LeBron James, Marcus Smartand the Los Angeles Lakers they’ve had an up-and-down few weeks as they deal with injury issues and a tougher schedule. After starting the season 23-11, the Lakers have lost six of their last nine games. For whatever reason, struggles have coincided with the NBA trade deadline fast approaching.

As the team continues its Grammy journey in the Midwest, the Lakers hope to put all trade talks behind them and get back on the winning track.

“I think it’s tough,” Marcus Smart said after the loss. “You have guys fighting for contracts, fighting to stay in the team. And then you have other guys who are confident and kind of understand where they are. So it’s a little difficult and it makes things a little difficult, but at the same time, we’re professionals and we have to go out and do our job no matter what. The human element comes into play when you’re able to be quick.”

LeBron James took a different approach, highlighting the biggest piece the Lakers are currently missing: potential NBA All-Star Austin Reaves.

“I mean, we’re missing our All-Star two guards, James said. “So we haven’t been almost all year. We’re starting to get some rhythm, we’re starting to fill out, but we haven’t had a full roster all year. Our All-Star duo is out, hopefully we can get him back soon. I saw another report that he might be back during the trip.

“I really don’t get involved in all that. It’s disrespectful to these guys if I start talking about the trade deadline and what we need to do and what we need to improve on, whatever the case may be. I try not to play too much fantasy basketball.”

Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber and Jackson Hayes will be unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2026. LeBron James, Austin Reaves, DeAndre Ayton and Marcus Smart have player options that can be exercised through the 2026-27 season or declined to become unrestricted this summer.

“Certainly, it affects things for us,” Hachimura said. “Especially this year, we have a lot of guys like that, myself included. I’ve been here for four seasons, and every year is kind of the same. It’s a little different, but we’re re-signing me, Austin (Reeves), (Jared Vanderbilt). This year was a little different because a lot of new guys are here now and they’re basically on one-year deals and they’ve got to survive as well. I get it, I get it. But we talked about it before the season: a win will help.”

When asked about his potential future, LeBron James repeated the same sentence three times with a smile.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m fine.”

The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 5, and the Lakers have just under two weeks to try to make moves to help their roster. The team, however, is limited with the draft assets they have at their disposal — a first-round pick in 2031 — and players who aren’t highly desirable in the current trade market.