And here's the thing....
As I mentioned weeks ago, even with Melo and Jennings on the Lakers, we wouldn't improve drastically enough to all of a sudden go on winning streak after winning streak and take the Lakers out of the running for that coveted top 3 pick. The Lakers would still be bad enough (at least for the remainder of this season) to make a solid run at a bottom 3-5 record because they're so far back in the standings that it's almost too late for them to recover.
Thus, the Lakers would get the best of both worlds. They make a move to acquire a star player, and still have a solid shot at keeping their top 3 pick. This satisfies a multitude of things as the offseason approaches. Having Melo on the roster would be more attractive for upcoming UFA's because it signals to free agents that the Lakers are serious about winning NOW. Secondly, the Lakers would then possess that all-valuable trade chip (top 3 pick) PLUS another first rounder to dangle PLUS an expected $22+ million in cap space to acquire and trade for another big-time star or two.
On the flip side, if the Lakers stand pat and do nothing...all they can do is hope and pray they luck out with a top 3 pick and hope even more that Randle and DLo somehow turn things around drastically next year and turn into All-Star caliber players, whose chances of it happening imho, is....as Chick Hearn used to put it "slim and none"
If Lakers management really had a ton of faith in DLo, Clarkson, and Randle they wouldn't be ultra aggressive in trying to make moves to acquire an All-Star prior to the deadline. The fact that they have been making a concerted effort to trade for Boogie, PG13, Butler, etc...should let you know that at least 2 of their "young guns" are definitely expendable because they believe none of these guys will turn out to be the type of leader that can put this team on his back en route to a serious playoff run.
