So the Lakers essentially just traded their last 5 years of assets, excluding Kuzma who I am not a big fan of at all, and their next 5 years of draft capital as well for Davis. That is one HELL of a haul on NO part. They pretty much asked for 10 years of the Lakers draft assets including 2 former #2 picks and a #4 pick in this years draft.
He's fucking 21. He will get a lot better. His body will mature even more over the next few years and he will be a force. He was the #2 pick for a reason. Lonzo Ball was the #2 pick for a reason. There are so many examples of top flight talents blossoming on other teams because idiotic management gave up on developing their talent. For a recent example, D'Angelo Russell is another #2 who the Lakers gave up on and now he's an All-Star.
Michael Beasley was the #2 pick for a reason. Hasheem Thabeet was the #2 pick for a reason. Derrick Willaims was the #2 pick for a reason. Evan Turner was the #2 pick for a reason. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was the #2 pick for a reason.
Funny you should mention Russell. Despite his clear improvement upon leaving LA, the Nets are reportedly ready to let him walk and replace him with an older, more expensive, and (IMHO) over-rated guy in Irving. Russell, Ingram, and Ball all have value - but they all seem more like good supporting players rather than players you can build around.
This just means we get to listen to the media dick ride a team that’s not gonna make the playoffs...again.
My theory is, this was an elaborate plan on AD and NOP's part to make everyone think he wanted to go to LA. Right down to cozying up to LeBron via their agent. The Lakers would create major turmoil throughout the trade speculation process, send the franchise into disarray resulting in a good pick, and send all their recent and future picks to NOP. AD spends a year there and then returns to NOP as a free agent, making then championship favorites with a loaded roster, and leaving LA with a bad G-League roster.
Exactly, it's an inexact process. NO has a chance on Ball, Ingram, Hart, #4 plus 5 additional years of Lakers picks. Good argument of why any one of these 9 assets could be worthless. But same can be said of any teams draft over the next decade. Plenty of examples of teams getting junk, while others get 2 or 3 studs in back to back years. The Pelicans gave themselves a ton of chances for top flight talent. On its own this was a great move, and as a Lakers hater I'm ecstatic. They didn't do enough to win a title and they mortgaged their future
NO controls Lakers picks until 2025 when LeBron will be 40. That's crazy. I wonder when LBJ will want out? Look at the future that his teams have mortgaged, CLE, Mia, CLE, now after 11 months nearly a decade of the Lakers assets are poof, gone.
I'm with @Sarni , I think the Pels got a great deal. I think LA has a very short window and those picks could end up great. Nets-Celtics all over again Especially with dickface Rich Paul trying to create the most toxic trade environment ever seen
Number of those players drafted by the Lakers: 0. Number stolen away from small market teams: 4 out of 5. Yeah, it’s a level playing field in the NBA.
Exactly what I mean. Even if Ball doesn't work out, they can still flip him for good value. Same goes for Ingram. They are both controlled by Pelicans for the next 3-5 years, Ingram is RFA next season but they can just match whatever he's going to get out there and keep him. For the drafts, #4 pick is good. This draft isn't super deep but still has some nice players. Even if they land someone like Hunter who might not have the highest ceiling but has a relatively high floor, they should be happy with that pick. And all assets they will get going forward could end up being really good. I'll be surprised if Lakers are a great team between 2022 and 2025, considering LeBron's age and AD's injury issue. I expect at least one of those picks to be high lottery. Bottom line is it doesn't even matter that much, they got three good players with value, a pick that is already high and a whole bunch of future picks for a player who had one year left and wanted to leave. Will any of these players be as good as AD? Probably not, but in the whole league there's one player whose value is equal or better than AD and that's Giannis, who they were never going to get in return (it's delusional to even think that was on the table). Zion is the next big thing but they already have the pick that will become him. The great thing about getting young assets and picks is that you get multiple shots at it. They don't have to all be great, if they don't fit in you flip them for something else and try again. That's the difference between getting Ingram and Ball and taking a 29-year old veteran. Also, Ball and Ingram have already shown they can play so they will not be like Okafor, Noel or Fultz who became almost worthless early into their NBA careers. Their future looks great.