Los Angeles Lakers: Analyzing The Lou Williams Trade
The Los Angeles Lakers are making moves with the 2017 NBA Trade Deadline just hours away. Their first move allowed them to move the team’s leading scorer.
Well Jeanie Buss wasted no time cleaning house on Tuesday. She relieved her brother Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak of their duties with the Los Angeles Lakers. Then she hired Hall of Famer and former Lakers’ guard Magic Johnson as president of basketball operations.
The Lakers will also hire Kobe Bryant‘s agent Rob Pelinka as GM. In cleaning house, it shows Jeanie’s patience with the Lakers’ front office has run out.
Since the team signed forward Luol Deng and center Timofey Mozgov to lucrative deals this past offseason, neither has turned into the investment the Lakers’ front office was expecting.
Magic wasted no time making moves before the NBA Trade Deadline. The Lakers, at 19-39, have a young roster of talent in D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac. However, their best scoring guard was Lou Williams, averaging 18.6 points per game to lead the team. It was a no-brainer moving the 30-year-old, but was it the right move? Here, we take a look.
Analyzing The Trade
Magic Johnson’s first move as an NBA executive was a trade. It shows the Lakers are aware they’ll need the NBA Draft to rebuild. This offseason, the Lakers’ will have two first round draft picks to work with, assuming the first falls within the top three.
The first round pick the Lakers’ receive from the Houston Rockets is unprotected and projected to be the 27th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Having two first round draft picks in this year’s draft would add some much-needed potential to this young Lakers roster.
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With Deng averaging 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds and center Timofey Mozgov averaging 7.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, the Lakers certainly need to go in a different direction. Deng still has three years left on his $72 million deal. Mozgov still has three years left on his $64 million deal. By obtaining NBA Draft picks, they at least have some type of insurance policy on all the money they’ve spent.
Getting back a veteran like Corey Brewer in return for Lou Williams isn’t too bad. Granted, Brewer has played just 15.9 minutes per game while averaging 4.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists this season. He didn’t find a role in Mike D’Antoni‘s offense, but his defensive prowess is still feasible in Los Angeles. It also doesn’t hurt his contract expires after the 2017-18 season.
Brewer knows what it means to be a winner as well. As culture change goes, in order to spark change, the pieces you surround your young guys with must know what it takes to win.
A product of the Florida Gators, Brewer has won back-to-back National Championships in college, winning the most outstanding player of the NCAA Tournament in 2007. He also won an NBA Championship in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers will be Brewer’s sixth team in his 10th season as a pro.
Next: 2017 NBA Trade Deadline: Grades For All 30 Teams
The Los Angeles Lakers look to be done making trades before the Feb. 23 deadline. With this recent move, they show that as they rebuild, Lou Williams isn’t part of the plan. Getting a defensive-minded veteran and first round draft pick in return — while also increasing their odds of keeping both their 2017 AND 2019 first-round picks — is an added plus.