The Lakers finish out the year with (stop us if you've heard this before) basically a must-win home game against a lousy Charlotte team tonight, then a very winnable road trip against Dallas (a .500 team), Orlando (a bad team), Miami (a .500 team), Atlanta (a .500 team) and Charlotte (as noted, lousy). Are they gonna sweep? Get swept? Split? No idea, but as far as NBA road trips go, this is about as favorable as they come.

And the Lakers are getting a bit of good news, too. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are expected to play tonight, and Austin Reaves has been upgraded to questionable. Maybe that means he needs another game, but it signals availability on Christmas, and through the road trip. And how the team fares will have a significant impact on its attitude about trades. Here, they have basically four options:

1. Do something on the margins this year, maybe for an expendable contract and a second round pick, but nothing that sacrifices the big stuff or moves the needle all that much.
2. Make a bigger deal (think Hield/Turner/Kuzma/Bogdanovic/etc.) that costs one or both first rounders, and also shapes the team for next year, too.
3. Do nothing, and hold on to the summer, then use cap space to make trades, sign players, and otherwise try to improve around LeBron and Anthony Davis.
4. Do nothing, and then decide you just need to blow it up, trading Davis and James in the offseason.

All are fraught with peril! But decisions will need to be made, and one thing that could influence things? The NBA trade market is, currently, shaping up to be very tight, where the cost of guys like Bogdanovic will be high. Many potential buyers, not nearly as many potential sellers. And not all that many appealing players that we all know will be available.

So how do the Lakers navigate all of this?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers get some decent injury updates for a change.

SEGMENT 2: What options do the Lakers have for improving the team?

SEGMENT 3: The NBA isn't cooperating, in terms of creating a market where the Lakers can maximize their assets without a ton of competition.

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