Welcome to trade deadline week

Monday marks one of the absolute busiest times of the NBA calendar. Coming off a whirlwind week of their own, the Lakers have some brutal questions to ask and answer.

Year in, year out, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Grammy road trip goes a long way in summarizing the season to that point and previewing what that team might be capable of. It’s pretty fitting that on this trip, LeBron James had this quote:

In the matter of a week, the Lakers have been rolled by the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks to the tune of 32 combined points — and those games weren’t nearly that competitive, if we’re being honest.

Days later, without James and Anthony Davis, those same Lakers went into Boston and handed the Celtics only their third home loss of the year. Then, with James and Davis in the lineup, they snapped the New York Knicks’ nine-game winning streak in Madison Square Garden.

You can’t talk about this season without injuries either, and this trip featured a brutal one, as several people close to the situation fear Jarred Vanderbilt’s season is likely over. I’m told the Lakers are moving forward as if they won’t have him available the rest of the year.

I’m told that the organization is split on how to handle this trade deadline without Vanderbilt from here on out. Some think losing Vando just makes it that much more important that perimeter defense gets addressed and are pushing to acquire Dejounte Murray and/or Dorian Finney-Smith. Others feel this loss is the one that pushes this season from frustrating to unsalvageable.