Why Lakers’ relatively quiet 2026 trade deadline is paying off in NBA playoffs
The Lakers made just one minor move at the 2026 NBA trade deadline, but Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura and team chemistry are proving why standing pat was the right call despite all the outside noise.
HOUSTON — When the calendar turns to February, there’s an urgency that gets turned up that’s felt around the NBA. It’s one last opportunity to improve your team before the final stretch of the season. Front offices chase it.
Fans demand it. Talking heads in sports try to speak it into existence. We’re talking about the blockbuster trade that creates the illusion that one transaction can completely change the course of a season and take a team that wasn’t a contender and somehow deliver it a championship.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka made one move during this year’s NBA trade deadline in February, and things have worked out well for the franchise. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images That was not the case when the Lakers pulled off one of the most shocking trades in NBA history , flipping Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic. Doncic, who had dragged the Mavericks to the NBA Finals a season earlier, could not get the Lakers back to the mountaintop.
So when Feb. 5 rolled around this year, everyone in Lakers Nation expected another seismic shift to the roster. Instead, general manager Rob Pelinka made one quiet move.
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