Lakers Almost Landed Veteran Wing Terrence Ross in Deal With the Magic

As the trade deadline came to a close, the Lakers were one of the teams in on veteran wing Terrence Ross. But a deal never came to fruition.

The Lakers completely disappointed at the trade deadline. As the hours dwindled down to just minutes left before the noon deadline, they came up more and more in rumors. One trade that reportedly almost came to fruition was for a veteran wing. 

The Lakers were reportedly engaged in talks with the Magic surrounding Terrence Ross. Those talks started to heat up as the league approached the noon Pacific Time deadline, but it was never completed. 

Ross has long been rumored in the Lakers trade conversations, dating back to December.  At age 31, Ross is still a productive wing in the league. He is averaging close to 11 points per game to go along with 2 assists and has shot 40 percent from the field.

He has admittedly taken a step back with his range, hitting just 30 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. But they do desperately need help with perimeter defense, and Ross could have helped them with that off of the bench.

After the deadline, Rob Pelinka clarified why moves were not made. The VP of Basketball Operations said that there were deals to be made, but none that made sense for the team now or in their future.