Did the Lakers and Warriors switch roles amid NBA’s wild trade deadline?

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LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors went all-in … kinda.

The Los Angeles Lakers seemingly stay in that mode … kinda sorta.

Circumstances presented the Lakers with an opportunity to play the ultimate long game, with an offer they couldn’t refuse while the Warriors had to make a gamble on Jimmy Butler that in ordinary circumstances they might not have.

That explains this wacky NBA season, its wild trade deadline and perhaps a crazy, winding route to June.

LeBron James expects to be there every year while Stephen Curry seems to hope for it, without the outward or passive-aggressive pressure.

Perhaps it’s because Oklahoma City, Houston and Memphis sit at the top, teams that don’t have nary a conference finals appearance between them with this current core. Perhaps it’s the age of parity in the NBA turning the most sober and experienced figures into hopeless romantics, believing one move can put their teams back in the driver’s seat of contention when the sample sizes say otherwise.

Butler had a one-way ticket out of Miami Dade, without a true destination — but at least he knew he wanted out. As Butler held up his new No. 10 jersey in a small room in the back hallways of Crypto.com Arena, Luka Dončić stepped out to center floor to receive his first welcome from the home fans.

LeBron James’ Lakers and Steph Curry’s Warriors are taking drastically different paths toward NBA contention. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

It represents hope for the future and present for both, but in different forms perhaps. The Warriors have always tip-toed the line between the present and future, while the Lakers seemed to throw move after move in order to satisfy their own outsized expectations.

Have they switched roles?

Kinda, because grabbing a player of Dončić’s caliber cannot be viewed as a move for the future, not when he has carried two different teams deep into the playoffs and last year, took the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals.

Butler is no stranger to deep runs, and it’ll be interesting to see how he and Curry mesh, with Draymond Green serving as sergeant in arms. He made it sound simple enough…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/did-the-lakers-and-warriors-switch-roles-amid-nbas-wild-trade-deadline-084946340.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-07 08:49:00

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