Prank won’t be so funny if Hill does leave before deadline…
The Los Angeles Lakers need a sense of humour given their struggles this season, but poor center Jordan Hill was the victim of a cold prank on Wednesday.
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The Lakers coaching staff thought they would have some fun with the stress that the trade deadline brings for players, and Hill was the unfortunate victim of their prank.
With players unaware of whether or not they will be moving on in mid-season, it is a difficult time to settle particularly if their name has come up in speculation consistently in the build up to deadline day.
Currently, that’s the case with the Lakers who will be looking to rebuild in the summer and have significant cap space to play with in order to attract free agents.
While they don’t play until Friday against the Brooklyn Nets, the players were present for practice on Wednesday with Hill amongst the group.
The Lakers center carries a team option next season and so he could be considered a solid yet cheap acquisition for a team looking to bolster their front-court depth before the playoffs.
His situation unfortunately worked against him as the Lakers coaches told him that general manager Mitch Kupchak wanted to see him, and unsurprisingly the 27-year-old feared the worst.
“He just started walking (and was) like ‘What’s wrong? What’s up?’ Then we just started laughing,” coach Byron Scott told the Orange County Register.
It has been a miserable season for the Lakers as they sit near the bottom of the Western Conference with a 13-40 record, so they can be forgiven for trying to lighten the mood at the Staples Center.
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