Moves 1. Change in management 2. Lou for Brewer/1st 3. Huertas for Ennis 4. George rumors (Missing anything?) Lakers shed 11 years of player age in these deals, meaning that their likely first stringers - assuming Nick is in there - are 21, 31, 19, 22, and 25. That's an average of 23.6. Their bench is 22, 24, 31, 31, and 19. That's an average of 25.4. We're young as hell. Lakers have put themselves in decent position to retain their first, and they've added Houston's first - likely a very late first rounder. They did take on a year of Brewer's salary in the process.
B+? I was critical of taking back Brewer in the Lou trade, but given the weak trade market I think we can view that as a win. Obviously it helps the tank, which is a win in and of itself. Ennis is the flyest of fliers but it didn't cost anything and is a better fit than Huertas. I assume Calderon gets waived so Ennis will get his shot. Magic/Pelinka coming in for Jim/Mitch was a solid move. Actual skill-level aside, I think it'll have the added bonus of FAs taking the Lakers more seriously. The only thing negative is that we couldn't ship out Young, but again maybe the offers weren't there. No big loss anyway. Maybe we waive Young so he can go to a contender and we take the tank to yet another level. Also happy that we didn't blow our assets to land PG or JB this year. Waiting was the right move.
I'd give it a solid B. I'm all for the management change but of course you never know if they will be ultimately successful or not. I'm hoping that they are of course and I'm optimistic that they will be. Lou got us a first, albeit a very late one so that's a B. Huertas for Ennis is fine - I'd say it's worth a try. George rumors sound good today but a lot of things have to fall into place in order to get him, so I'm hopeful once again, but cautiously optimistic and not counting on anything.
I gave it a B+ The front office shake up was a positive. Simple as that for me. I was a vocal supporter of Lou for a 1st round pick, so I am down with that deal. If anything, all the news/moves the last two days fully illustrates just how valuable a 1st round pick is. I'm not overly thrilled with taking back Brewer but at least his contract didn't surpass that of Lou so the contracts were a wash. He will be a tradeable piece this summer as an expiring contract usable to match salaries. Be glad we didn't take back an Andrew Nicholson type contract. My only wish was the Lakers were able to trade with a team that would have had a higher pick. Huertas for Ennis is a great deal for what it is. It may not amount to anything more than a 24 game audition for Ennis to see if he is worth re-signing but that is easily worth the cost of an older veteran in Huertas, who was obviously not part of the long term picture. No risk with some potential reward. I am glad we didn't trade for George as I have said I'd much rather wait for the summer. Not only because it helps us "not win games" and thus keep the pick but the timing is just better. We'd have a clearer idea as to whether or not he is likely to stay in Indy or not. If he makes the All-NBA 3rd team and Indy throws that mega-extension offer his way, good chance the guy sticks. If not though - and the Pacers flop in the postseason - then great chance Indy feels pressured to trade him to LA for less than his value. Like pvlost, I was in favor of shipping out Young for a 2nd rounder. I understand the concerns over losing yet another productive veteran and also the lack of value in general of a 2nd round pick (obviously in a vacuum Young is more valuable than that pick). That said, I think Young bolts as a free agent this summer - and apparently so do the Lakers since they did shop him - so really it's a case of I'd rather have gotten something than lose him for nothing. 2nd round picks are still assets and the Lakers know that as well as anyone. Plus if the Lakers keep their Top 3 pick, they lose their 2017 2nd rounder so this could have replenished that. All in all though, I don't mind keeping him and maybe he stays with the team at a discounted price.
Firing Jimmy: A+ Firing Mitch: B- Magic taking over: B+ Pelinka as new GM: A+ Trading Lou: C+ Trading Huertas: C- Not trading Nick: D Not our doing, but PG13 not going to another team is an A for our future. Grade for the week: A-
Good I like the Heurtas trade. Bringing in a young pass-first guard off the bench with a decent jumper (Ennis is shooting 38FG% from 3pt range this year) may mesh better with JC than Lou. I'm okay with the Lou trade. I wish we could have picked up a stretch 4 instead of Brewer, but I'm nitpicking here. So-So I'm sad to see Mitch go, but I'm not angry about it. Even though I don't blame Mitch entirely for what's happened the past several years, he is about the same age Jerry West was when Jerry stepped down in 2000. Pelinka (47 years old) is roughly the same age Mitch was (46 years old) when Mitch became GM. Sometimes you need to bring in new blood. I'm ambivalent about hiring Magic as Chief of Basketball Operations. He has experience running businesses, but his basketball experience save for a short stint as a coach in 1994, is mostly as a player. However, he is saying the right things (He'll take input from everyone, will try to learn the business as he goes along), so I'll try to remain optimistic. Bad Unless we plan to resign Nick over the summer, I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't trade him for something. He's most likely going to opt-out of his contract and look for a bigger payday. Jeanie's use of a mouthpiece like Ding to trash Mitch and her brother before firing them is low-class all the way. I'll give them a B grade. Hopefully we can do better in the offseason.
A+ for firing the cataclysmic duo B for trading Lou for 1st but Brewer pulls this down A for PG staying put, most important in our future A for Magic Pelinka INC for Ennis trade Great moves all around
B - did as much they can in a short window. - took the best offer for Williams...shore up the perimeter defense with Brewer. - rid of Huertas for Ennis who can lead the bench. - not trading Young who most likely will walk this offseason. - could have handled the Kupchak/Buss firing with grace. - John Black (?). - Pelinka hiring a progressive move (ala Myers in Golden State). - no impulse team gutting moves for Butler or George.
No earth shattering moves C Good to see a change in management though. A unified voice from the top is essential, and we didn't have that.
Off SI: Winners: Lakers Jeanie Buss’s decision to finally dump Jim Buss—a man with none of the skills required to be a quality executive and years of floundering moves to his name—makes the Lakers clear winners all by itself. But there’s even more to be excited about: Magic Johnson is a well-connected and well-respected Hall of Famer who seems smart enough to delegate, new GM Rob Pelinka is a proven deal-maker with extensive ties throughout the league, and the regime’s first move—cashing in Lou Williams to the Rockets for a first-round pick—is a clear sign they realize that they must do everything to retain their own top-three protected pick in June’s draft. The prospect of a major shakeup right before the deadline is usually a recipe for disaster, especially if it leads to immediate roster change. In this case, the Lakers got a reasonable return for their top trade piece, prepared to give their young players like D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram greater responsibilities down the stretch, and hunkered down for a tank that just might land UCLA star Lonzo Ball. The only thing worse than being bad is being bad without a vision. Johnson never lacked vision as a player and he’s off to a good start as an executive. Losers: ******* The ******* are bordering on self-parody at this point, generating mountains of trade scenarios throughout this calendar cycle only to be as quiet as possible on deadline day. No Paul George. No Jimmy Butler. Nobody. Despite being right in the thick of the East’s race, ******’s Danny Ainge didn’t tinker at all, watching as Cleveland added Kyle Korver, Toronto added Ibaka and Tucker, and Washington added Bojan Bogdanovic. With that outside activity and his roster’s own clear needs—another creator, rebounding, interior defense—Ainge has set himself up to take the full force of the blame if the ******* bow out of the playoffs early. The Green Beer spin is obvious: By hanging on to the Nets pick, ****** has guaranteed itself a long-term difference-maker, maximized its flexibility in advance of new contracts for the likes of Isaiah Thomas, and set the table for a splashy summer. That’s a compelling case, and surely the asking prices on both George and Butler remained at unacceptably high levels. Still, there’s a vast middle ground to be found between “adding a superstar” and “standing pat while others get better,” and the ******* may learn that lesson the hard way come playoff time. Wasn’t there a way for the ******* to marginally improve this year while still maintaining their bright future? Edit: (no reason just because...and it's my freaking post! ) Losers: Clippers The Clippers have held tough during injury absences for Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, but their rumored interest in adding Carmelo Anthony was a sign that this core needed a little extra jolt if it’s going to get over the hump in the West. The Anthony talks went as quickly as they came, leaving L.A. to sit on its hands at the deadline with precious few assets to deal. Paul’s imminent return from a hand injury will make the Clippers whole, allowing Doc Rivers to turn his attention to snagging rotation pieces on the buyout market. But a string of blowout losses to the Warriors left the Clippers looking like a team that needed to embrace an outside-the-box, homer-or-strikeout move. Although there’s still time for the Clippers to recapture their early-season magic before the playoffs, they seem headed for underdog status in the second round, if they can make it that far.
C i'm not that upset with the management change, but the manner and timing were terrible. feels like it wasn't well-considered or planned. don't like the lou trade. i was fine without a late 1st, i'm against tanking, and corey brewer isn't a good basketball player. i'd have preferred a young player with some potential and a future 2nd or an expiring and a 1st. failing those, i'd have held onto lou. he'd still have value next year. the ennis swap was a nice low-risk move. glad they didn't get hoodwinked into overpaying for a star. wait it out, mitch-style.
Bingo. Trading Lou, shopping Young for a pick, trading for Ennis illustrated what their plan is for the remainder of this season. Some may call it "tanking". I call it an overdue youth movement. Agree with it or not but at least the Lakers have a "vision" for what will ultimately be another bad season in terms of wins/losses.
Glad to see Lou doing well at Houston! Scored 27 today. Good spot for him and might push that Rockets team to the ECF if they get hot in the playoffs. Lou was a real professional with us and glad to see him balling this season in a career year!
B, the roster moves are positive but don't really move the needle for me. Cersei Buss blowing this up and getting Pelinka on board is what I'm most excited about. While I'm very optimistic about George coming here, I'm not gonna net the rumors as a positive. A lot can change in a short period of time and I hope we can acquire him asap...
I think it is a B- or C+. The Huertas deal is good but has no impact on the future. Williams was sold on the cheap side and they failed to move Calderon and Young.
