Lakers Practice Report: Deadline Passed

The Los Angeles Lakers did not look at all different following the NBA's trade deadline as the team failed to make any moves

All over the NBA, general managers hit the horns and made last minute deadline deals to shake up the NBA landscape. Keeping track of the trades as they came through at the deadline was nearly impossible. Keeping track of the LA Lakers' trades, however, did not pose a challenge.

The Lakers did not make a single move.

The only murmurs involving the Lakers near the deadline came 24 hours before the deadline when disgruntled Phoenix Suns point guard Goran Dragic said he wanted out of Arizona. Well, Dragic got out, but he went for Miami. Considering Dragic named Miami as one of his preferred destinations, the point guard will likely no longer be on the Lakers' radar come summer time.

"I have a lot of faith in Jimmy (Buss) and Mitch (Kupchak)," Lakers coach Byron Scott said on Thursday afternoon after the deadline had passed. "The game plan that they showed me months ago, I believe in that. And we knew it was going to take us some time, and we knew it was going to be a process."

"It gets me excited for the summer," Scott added.

The coach would not give away any details about the plan, but simply pointing to the summer made it clear that the Lakers had set high expectations for the coach. For fans who have labored through nearly two seasons of constant struggles and lengthy stretches of losing, expectations are high for the summer of 2015. With Scott's comments, those expectations should only increase.

Back to the Lakers' practice, the coach put his players to work in another training camp style practice meant to recondition his players following a lengthy break on the sidelines. Wayne Ellington, Jordan Hill and  Nick Young all completed Thursday's practice, so all three should be available on Friday night when the Lakers take on the Brooklyn Nets.

Speaking of Young, the Lakers' sixth man made his usual scene when the cameras came on.

"[I] got a chance to talk to the dolphins a little bit. Now, we've got a cool understanding," Young started talking about his break. "We stay away from each other, just give each other a head nod and keep it moving."

"It was like a gang [of dolphins], but I had to face my fears so I just jumped in," Young previously stated that a dolphin tried to drown him. "They kind of felt my presence. I was like Deebo to them, so they didn't really come around too much."

Young said he also went to New York for Fashion Week but not before he flew over a volcano in a helicopter with no doors on it and went zip-lining. "Even the volcano couldn't mess with me."

During Young's media session, Lakers forward Jordan Hill interrupted from the Lakers' weight room. Young promptly walked over and dragged Hill in front of the cameras. Immediately, Young turned interviewer and asked Hill about surviving the trade deadline with the Lakers.

"I'm still here. I'm still holding on by a thread," a bearded Hill answered Young's question.

To end the interview, Young ran off but not before he brought attention to Hill's beard and said, "They need to trade that."

Hill, Young and the Lakers will next play on Friday night at Staples Center.

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