LeBron's postgame comments have Lakers fans thinking about trades

After losing to the Boston Celtics on Christmas day, LeBron James is already looking for the Lakers to make some trades. As noted by HoopsHype, In the locker room after the game, James said he doesn't "think we're where we want to be to compete against the top teams". The oldest player in the league has likely been playing through bangs and bruises to keep L.A from falling outside of the play-in.

The signs that the Lakers have needed to make moves have been apparent since their opening night loss against the Nuggets but the team was good enough to wait out the market a bit to what offers developed.

It looked like this team could wait for the trade deadline until their struggles post-in-season tournament. The team is currently 2-6 since the in-season tournament. This has forced the team to dip in the standings and start to wonder whether the team should start to force trades to upgrade the squad.

What kinds of trades can the Lakers make to upgrade the squad?

In almost every trade proposal that features an upgrade for the Lakers, D'Angelo Russell is included in it as an outgoing piece. The point guard hasn't been the offensive distributor and is on a deal that was most likely made to trade the player during the middle of the season. LA could look to exchange Russell, one or two first-round picks, and a lower-tier rookie player for Zack LaVine which could help the team when it comes to offensive creation and distribution.

While LaVine has all-star-level offense, the player has a very pricy contract and isn't that great on the defensive side of the ball. With the market being "non-existent" for the player, the Lakers may be able to get LaVine for Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and a slightly protected first-round pick from the end of the decade. The Lakers can also look to other players on Chicago's or other team rosters to make their team better.

While it's unclear who the Lakers will trade for to upgrade the team, it's unclear this is a team that will be heavily involved in trade rumors as trade seasons heats up.