NBA Trade Grades: Houston Rockets Add Lou Williams From Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers

NBA Twitter was ruthless Tuesday morning when the Lakers announced that Jeanie Buss had cleared house and given Magic Johnson the title of president of basketball operations.

We’ve already seen a few former greats (Vlade Divac, Phil Jackson) tarnish their reputations with indescribably dumb moves as front office executives, and a quick look at Magic’s tweets over the year didn’t inspire much hope in his competence as a talent evaluator.

However, Magic was at least smart enough to see that Lou Will’s talents were wasting away on a tanking team with the second-worst record in the West, and that their sixth man could be far more valuable to the Lakers as a trade chip to bring in an extra draft pick.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne confirmed the deal was orchestrated by Magic himself, so it’s safe to say the first official move of his tenure was a pretty damn good one.

Though the Lakers have added another veteran who won’t contribute much on the court in Corey Brewer, they also netted a first round pick in exchange for a 30-year-old bench piece who had no long-term future in Los Angeles.

Though it’ll probably be the 27th overall pick, let’s not forget the Lakers were able to snag a late first round gem like Larry Nance Jr. at that very same spot just two years ago. They also got Jordan Clarkson (No. 46 in 2014) and Ivica Zubac (No. 32 in 2016) late in recent drafts as well.

Los Angeles could’ve pushed for K.J. McDaniels or tried to take on another expiring contract rather than Brewer, who still has another year and $7.6 million remaining on his deal. But we can only be too picky when the Lakers accomplished their goal of dealing Lou Will for a first-rounder.

For those complaining about Brewer’s value to this team, keep in mind that this is a guy who’s seemingly always happy and upbeat. He shouldn’t be a locker room distraction and expectations for him will be minimal anyway.

He won’t be a factor for the Lakers’ rebuild, but as bad as he’s been for the Rockets lately, it’s not like Luol Deng has been tearing it up either:

The Lakers have some promising young pieces like D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram and Jordan Clarkson, but for all their flashes of potential, we can’t really say any of them looks like a franchise cornerstone yet.

The Lakers probably won’t find that future centerpiece by adding a first-rounder projected to be in the late 20s, but trading the team’s leading scorer ensures that the tank is fully on for Luke Walton‘s squad.

When you remember that the Lakers only keep their own 2017 first-rounder if it falls inside the top three, not to mention their 2019 first-rounder as well, it becomes imperative for this franchise — which currently owns the third-worst record in the NBA — to keep two potentially high draft pick in an attempt to discover that next superstar.

Next: 2017 NBA Trade Deadline: Grades For All 30 Teams

Trading Williams is the first necessary step to giving Los Angeles the best odds possible for keeping that pick, and by throwing in an extra first-rounder, taking on Brewer’s salary is a more than acceptable compromise.

Grade: A-