Aloha,
The Lakers came into the trade deadline with 3 real needs. They are in desperate need of a 3 and D wing, a better defensive center and more shooting. The only problem was that we had very few assets to secure that kind of help. The click baiters posted tons of trades for wings that we had no chance of landing. As a matter of fact, all of the 3 and D guys that were supposed to be on the market were not moved anywhere because of the asking price . Those type of players have become very expensive. Anyone that follows the league at all would have known that the Herb Jones type guys were out of our price range.
How about centers? Well Zubac cost the Pacers 2 first round picks and a young talented player with real upside. It was another case of no assets for us. The one thing that did go our way was landing Luke Kennard. He is one of the best 3 point shooters in NBA history and is currently shooting 49% from 3. He is what we hoped Dalton could become. He is not a defender but filling a big need with only one 2nd and Gabe maybe one of the better trades that Rob has made.
It will be interesting to see if anyone useful lands on the buyout market. Lonzo may land there and he is a decent defender but he actually has the worst shooting percentage in the league. Not good. Matisse Thybulle would be a great fit at the wing but he is currently recovering from two injuries, with no time table for his return.
It is more than likely going to come down to how well this group can play. Even a trade for someone Like Herb Jones would not have made us into a real contender. The one thing that will be interesting is how well we can do with health. The Nets game was just the 8th game this year that we had the big 3 together. And only the 4th game where we had all of our rotation players available. JJ is going to have to do it with rotations and mirrors but with SGA going down it reminds us how key injuries can doom a season and that is why you play the games.
Good stuff, Michael. I don’t disagree with saving the pick and I do think free agency is the smart move to make. We should be able to land at least one future elite starter and maybe two with the $60M we would have if we only keep Reaves cap hold and try to keep Smart with the MLE.
The problem is I have zero confidence in Rob Pelinka to execute the moves we make this summer. There’s a reason we had our hands tied for this and previous transaction windows. Building a championship team is done by series of positive steps forward position by position, player by player, transaction window by transaction window. It’s done by planning and execution. Not by fate and luck dropping Luka in your lap.
Mark Walter has to see that all of things that got in our way this transaction window are the same things that screwed up every previous transaction window. The first move Mark needs to make when the season is over is to fire Rob Pelinka and hire a real professional like Bob Myers. No more of the Rob and Jeanie show. Wasting one full year of having Luka, LeBron, and Austin. That’s Rob Pelinka’s obituary as far as I am concerned.