For the second straight season, the Los Angeles Lakers have made a major splash during the NBA offseason by reaching an agreement to acquire the most coveted piece available on the market. While it was the acquisition of LeBron James that took the league by storm and shook the landscape of the league's signature franchise last season via free-agency, this time around it was a move made by trade that enabled the Lakers to acquire their newest member just days after the conclusion of the NBA Finals. Joining James and company in Tinseltown for the upcoming 2019-20 NBA season will be six-time All-Star and former first overall pick Anthony Davis who was acquired over the weekend from the New Orleans Pelicans. Though pairing LeBron with the talented 26-year old big man is the latest step in the Lakers' efforts to end their longest postseason drought in franchise history, it didn't come cheap as they certainly paid a hefty price in return.
In exchange for the three-time All-NBA swingman, the Lakers sent a package deal to the Big Easy that included PG Lonzo Ball, SF Brandon Ingram, SG Josh Hart and three first round picks, including the No. 4 pick in next week's Draft. Add those names and picks to a roster that already includes former Laker Julius Randle and All-Star guard Jrue Holiday and will soon add Duke sensation and consensus No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, and the Pelicans appear to have themselves a nice little squad of their own. The deal which can't be made official until July 6, is a major win for a Pelicans franchise that would've seen Davis walk via free-agency following the 2019-20 season otherwise. While the Lakers did ship off many of their young assets, they did however manage to hang onto forward Kyle Kuzma who has easily been the most productive player among L.A.'s young core over the past two seasons and was initially believed to be one of the main pieces the Pelicans were asking for in the package deal. And as if the Lakers weren't already in win now mode given the window is closing more rapidly than ever for James who will be entering his age 35 season and the second year of his 4-year, $153.3 Million dollar pact with the team, the addition of Davis coupled with a pair of key injuries suffered by the Warriors' Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson could result in a major shift in power out West.
While the race for Anthony Davis appeared to be only a three-team race between the Lakers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, L.A. proved to be the only team with enough ammunition willing to pull the trigger. While the Knicks simply didn't have enough assets to garner the Pelicans' attention, Boston's unwillingness to include the promising young talent of Jayson Tatum made the Lakers' offer the most attractive as they eventually came out as the winners in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes. However, the Lakers' reloading phase won't stop there as they'll now focus their attention on acquiring another possible max-contract player with such names as Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving leading the charge. Or could it be someone who's slipped under the radar like Jimmie Butler? While it remains uncertain who will be joining LeBron and Davis in the purple & gold for the upcoming season, one thing that is certain is that newly hired head coach Frank Vogel's Lakers team saw their stock rise just moments after the trade news broke, as they currently sit as the odds on favorite to win the NBA title next season at 7-2 according to the Caesars Sportsbook in Las Vegas.
But for now, the trade serves as some long awaited good news for Lakerland following a tumultuous season both on and off the court for the once proud Lakers organization that has had its fair share of bumps and bruises and has been rather out of wack over the past 6 months. From the botched trade to land A.D. down the stretch before the NBA trade deadline that sent the team into a downward spiral, to the firing of head coach Luke Walton, to the very publicized rocky relationship between front-office officials which ultimately led to Magic Johnson stepping down and resigning from his position as the team's president of basketball operations, and everything in between.
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With the 2017 NBA Draft officially in the books, the Los Angeles Lakers are one step closer to finishing their rebuilding process and competing for an NBA title, or at least they hope. After landing the second overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery for the third consecutive year, the brain trust of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka made UCLA point-guard Lonzo Ball the newest member of the Lakers. Chosen as the first player under the Lakers' new regime, Magic is putting all of his eggs into Lonzo's basket in hopes of him being the new face of the franchise a season after the former UCLA Bruin helped lead the program to the Sweet 16 and compiled the most assists in a single-season in UCLA history as a one and done freshman.
Though its been widely speculated that many including Lonzo's outspoken father LaVar Ball saw the pick coming months ago, nothing was set in stone until NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced L.A.'s selection on Draft night Thursday evening. Despite the rumor of it being a foregone conclusion that the Lakers would take Ball, Magic and company still did their due diligence by working out other players and at least listening to trade offers. Not to mention a few boulders needed to be shifted along the way to make room for their "new leader" as Johnson called him. Having grown up in Southern California and playing collegiately just a stones throw away from his new home in Staples Center, Lonzo did take a gamble by working out exclusively for the hometown Lakers. And though he would consider working out for other clubs once the Lakers announced they had sent out invites to several other players in the Draft, the Lakers remained the only team he would meet with after both parties scheduled a second workout which solidified L.A.'s decision and proved to pay dividends for the 19-year old Ball.
Having drawn comparisons to future Hall of Fame point-guard Jason Kidd, the Lakers are getting an elite passer who is dynamic in transition and is an excellent shooter, something Kidd was not. When comparing their college numbers, Ball shot a 73% field goal percentage from within the three-point line compared to Kidd's 54% at Cal Berkeley. He also had him beat from behind the arch as Ball shot 41% from three compared to Kidd's 33%. So if Lonzo can pan out to be a better shooting version of Jason Kidd, I'd say the Lakers made out alright and have their leader Magic coveted.
If Lonzo can succeed in a Laker uniform, he'll deserve all the praise in the world as he enters the league with lofty expectations set by the constant chatter and sound bytes from his loudmouth father, coupled with playing under the bright lights of his hometown in L.A. And then there's the void left by the now departed D'Angelo Russell who the Lakers decided to trade in order to make room for Lonzo. Two days prior to the Draft, the Lakers packaged Russell who was selected second overall just two years ago and the expensive contract of Timofey Mozgov to Brooklyn in exchange for center Brook Lopez and the 27th Pick in Thursday's Draft which they would then use to select power-forward Kyle Kuzma out of Utah. While critics and fans alike praised the move which now free's the Lakers of Mozgov's terrible four-year, $64 Million dollar contract, they also expressed their disappointment in the Lakers' front-office for giving up on Russell so early into his career. Coming out of College at Ohio State University, Russell was touted as being the best passing point-guard since Magic Johnson. And though he would often times show flashes of brilliance, mostly with his shooting, he struggled to rack up the assists and failed to even resemble Kevin Johnson, much less Magic Johnson.
With the trade being just as much a salary dump as it was a chance to make room for Ball, the Lakers have now freed up nearly $60 Million in cap space for the chance of potentially luring two big name free-agents with such names as Paul George and LeBron James expected to hit the free-agent market in 2017-18. With lots of money to play with in the coming seasons comes plenty of intrigue. But that's not to say this season isn't worth forgetting about according to one person. Just when you hoped the annoying interviews and quotes from Lonzo's father LaVar Ball were through, out he comes with another batch freshly brewed from that relentless mouth of his. After his son was introduced by the team during a press-conference on Friday, LaVar made sure to add at least one more pressure-filled prediction on his son's shoulders by claiming, "Lonzo Ball is going to take the Lakers to the playoffs this year." While I hope he isn't wrong with that one, if Lonzo and company can deliver on LaVar's latest promise, it'll end the Lakers' four-year playoff drought, the longest in franchise history.
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