The Los Angeles Lakers lost both of their key trade targets this deadline, with De’Andre Hunter and Keon Ellis being traded for each other in a three-team deal between the Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Chicago Bulls. Now, as the team reels from missing out, two of general manager Rob Pelinka’s advisors have spoken out on their role with the team.

As many fans might know, after TWG Global’s Mark Walter, also the owner of the LA Dodgers, purchased the team, the Lakers brought in two key names in advisory roles as they began restructuring the front office: Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and special advisor Farhan Zaidi. The objective is to help Pelinka navigate roster-building the way Walter envisions it.

“We’re all kind of under this TWG umbrella, and it’s about providing resources to one another,” Friedman explained on the Dodgers Territory podcast. “Kind of collaborating, that’s kind of how we see it… Farhan has jumped in there some, and Rob came out to our Dodger organization town hall and did a Q&A with [Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes] and myself.”

Friedman explained that he’s still focused on his current role with the Dodgers, but that he and Pelinka have had “really good conversations.” The conversations aren’t necessarily about individual players, rather building process, discipline, and long-term outcomes.

That mindset mattered once the Hunter talks reached a critical point. LA held interest in Hunter but didn’t wish to flip forward Rui Hachimura and sophomore Dalton Knecht without receiving any draft compensation, especially with Hunter on the books for one more year.

At the same time, insiders noted that while Hunter and Ellis topped LA’s list of acquisitions, they simply didn’t have enough draft capital of their own to keep competitive in the negotiations.

Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers Face a Quickly Thinning Market

Multiple reports indicated that Rob Pelinka and the Lakers that didn’t want to commit to Hunter’s $24.9 million next year without getting draft capital along with his contract.

Unfortunately for them, the market soon closed for both their targets, with Hunter and Ellis being traded for each other, and Sacramento’s flexibility and Cleveland‘s willingness to maneuver standing in contrast to the Lakers’ more conservative posture.

The deal was bad news particularly given the lack of 3-and-D wings on the market, with Hunter being one of the most sought after. New Orleans Pelicans forwards Trey Murphy and Herb Jones were previously ruled out by The Athletic‘s Sam Amick due to the Pelicans’ belief that they can be foundational pieces on the team.

The team desperately needs a defensive presence, especially given their status as one of the worst defensive rating teams in the league at 118 (6th worst), and their offense not being enough to pull them out of the hole.

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For now, Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins is potentially available, but there’s no indication that the Lakers are willing to move that way. However, with their options quickly thinning, the team is going to have to make a decision, or risk leaving the deadline with the same roster they had beforehand.