In a day which saw the Lakers elevate Magic Johnson to President of Basketball Operations while removing Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak from their respective front office positions, more change is afoot. The team has reportedly traded Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets are sending Corey Brewer and a first-round pick to the Lakers for Lou Williams, league source tells @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 22, 2017
Per David Aldridge, the pick the Lakers are receiving from the Rockets is not protected in any way, so the team will have at least one draft pick in the upcoming draft with a possibility of still retaining their own selection should it fall in the top 3. The Lakers have reportedly been insisting on getting a 1st rounder in exchange for Williams, and my guess is that the lack of protections probably swayed them towards the Rockets considering there was also interest from the Jazz and Wizards.
There’s really three parts of this trade to analyze. First, is the draft pick, which is the centerpiece of this deal from the Lakers’ perspective. Though it will likely be lower than what I would have preferred — if the current standings hold, the Rockets pick would be #27 — the tangible difference between a pick at #24 (where the Wizards are currently projected) and #27 is negligible. Fact is, the Lakers will have a chance to make a selection in a portion of the draft where they have had some success recently, a testament to their scouting and decision making on collegiate and international players.
Remember, in the past three drafts the Lakers have selected Ivica Zubac, Larry Nance Jr., and Jordan Clarkson with picks 27th or later. They have been able to grab players who look to be able to contribute from slots this late and done so in consecutive drafts. This likely contributes to their comfort in making this trade, not to mention that this draft is considered as talent rich as any in the past five to ten years.
Second, and on the other side of this, I am not too keen on Corey Brewer being part of this deal. I would have preferred the Lakers push for KJ McDaniels, a younger, more rangy athlete who still has some upside. Brewer is a fine veteran who has been on some good teams and can be another voice in the locker room. He can also contribute as a try-hard defender and an open court player who will fill the lane well. But, overall, as someone who is signed through next season at a higher cap number than Williams and someone who has suspect offensive decision making, I would have just preferred the team chase a younger player as the “throw-in” to make the deal work.
Lastly, with Williams now gone, this slots the remaining backcourt players into roles which should give them more opportunities to play — especially in 4th quarters. Clarkson will likely get more minutes as the backup “PG” and Russell should get more consistent minutes and longer stints over the course of any given game. This matters for development purposes, even though there are real questions about whether they can replicate the level of play Williams was providing.
That final point is important and deserves more air time. As much as I have advocated trading Williams, that by no means was meant to diminish how good he’s been as an offensive fulcrum for the Lakers this season. Williams’ shot making, ability to draw fouls, and fearlessness as a scorer will be missed. He single handedly brought the Lakers back in multiple games this season and his personal runs were tremendously fun to watch. Yes, there were parts of Lou’s game that I did not like (defense, lack of decisive ball movement, over penetration) but those things should be put into the context of how much he often helped the team stay in games.
In the end, though, I just feel that redistributing his usage to some of the younger players is more important for their individual growth than playing next to or behind him. I wish him well in Houston, though. He will certainly help their offense be even more devastating than it already is.
George11Best says
Magics hire is akin to Isaiah being hired in New York but it’s a bigger disaster because magic is a team icon.
How many years can we tank? For what we got for Lou I’d rather re sign him. He can be an important piece. This team is still going backwards.
Wishwash says
This is unfortunately a race to the bottom, other teams are making moves to get their faster so we have to match those trades with our own to secure this years pick and 2019… I am glad Magic is on that page, If he kept Lou, I would have been even more concerned for our future… I am starting to build some faith, now trade Swaggy Please…
Alexander_ says
Magic is not starting his new position with a move that impresses…A Wash or Char pick had the room to drop into the teens, not so with Houston, which will stay where it is. In this year’s draft there will be studs at 1-20, not so much at 27. Brewer brings a needed skillset, but we were hoping to get back Oubre or Exum, or an expiring contract, not a bigger one than Lou’s.
stats2 says
I’m gonna miss Lou. Yeah, this is better for development, but the dude is an uncanny scorer and one heck of a pro.
FredP says
It was good to get the first round pick and it does not look like Brewer will be taking playing time from anyone. He will get a chance to get to know Mozgov real well. I would still like to see Clarkson start and share PG with Russell. Instead of subbing all five starters out the guard rotation could be Russell, Clarkson, and Young (pending the trade deadline).
Lou was a lot of fun to watch and helped distract from how bad the team has been. Just the same, the younger players need more burn.
_Chris J says
I wish Lou Williams well. The guy can play and brought it every night, but for the Lakers to assess what they have in the young guys, No. 23 needed to move on. I’m happy for him that he was sent to a winning organization and has a chance to compete. Also happy the Lakers got another No. 1 pick.
jaronbryce says
Alexander_ How do we know that Wash and Char weren’t offering 2nd round picks instead of a first rounder or perhaps were offering a contract that extended beyond Brewer’s length? Got to trust they made the right decision given the options they had before them. The fact Magic is decisive and unafraid is impressive.
Renato Afonso says
Sorry about this, but I don’t share that “let’s give the kids minutes to see what we have…” approach. We have an extensive coaching staff that gets to see them in practice, scrutinizes every minute they’re on court and every decision they make in their basketball related life. Obviously, experience is a valuable thing to have and I’m all for it. But accountability is also an issue here. None of our young players is “that” good on offense that we can overlook his defensive issues and build a lineup to mask those shortcomings. So, yes they should be subbed and benched for the rest of the game if they spend the first half showing no interest in playing defense or helping a teammate (and yes, I’m talking about DAR and Randle here). If there’s no competition for minutes, there’s a risk of building up a sense of entitlement on those kids, which they already have.
Losing a vet just to give minutes to see what they have in their young players is a bad move, that becomes even worse should we consider his cap friendly contract. Losing a vet because the coaching staff is sure they have a great player whose development is halted due to a minute logjam at his position is another thing. Basically, this is the difference between going full Hinkie or trading Eddie Jones to let Kobe develop. This trade is probably somewhere in the middle of that and, unfortunately, I think it’s much closer to going full Hinkie than I’d hope for and I cannot support such move.
NOTE: I’ve always been down on the DAR+JC pairing and up on Randle. I’m still down on that backcourt pairing but now we’ll see more of that. I hope I’m wrong here. I really do. Because judging by this season alone, the problem of that pairing seems to be DAR and not JC. As for Randle, he has the tools but there seems to be a motivation problem. If starting at PF for the Lakers isn’t motivating enough (while making millions of dollars) then maybe it’s time to see what’s out there and let Nance Jr. get more court time…
LordMo says
Bye Lou! You are a solid pro and I wish you much success!
LordMo says
Alexander_
I believe that Jimbo and Mitch waited too late and this was probably the best move available. Utah would have been preferably for sure. I would have tried to pry away Exum. But at least we did something. Got a couple days left so let’s see what Earvin can pull off! Still going to be some decent players left in the late first round I really like Cam Oliver!
Vasheed says
Renato Afonso
Well… the benchings might hurt a little more watching Huertas play instead of Lou.
Vasheed says
Alexander_
Rumors were swirling that teams offered protected picks. However, protections are meant to protect from a worse case scenario. Hence this year the Lakers owe a top 3 protected pick which I’m sure when they added that was meant to protect form just missing the playoffs and magically winning the lottery. I would have taken a “protected pick” that was unlikely to happen and didn’t have an extinguishing clause.
I also don’t think Brewer is a great contract to bring back. He offers defense but, a younger project piece would have been better.
Overall I found this deal while not horrible is a bit lacking.
FredP says
Renato Afonso You make good points regarding the need for accountability and having player discipline. However, the Lakers also need to grow and develop an entire team. They are not adding a player or building around an established superstar. Benching a player has minimal effect in this situation. He no longer has responsibility for the outcome of the game and practice is not enough to really gauge his ability against mature NBA players. Pete Zayas made a great suggestion during one of the podcasts to give Russell 4th quarter playing time during a blowout and have him play shooting guard. Have Huertas set him up and feed him passes. Take the pressure off Russell running the offense and let him focus on scoring and build up his confidence. In the transition from college where the world revolved around them to pros where it does not, there needs to be more time for the one and done players to grow into their bodies and learn how to grow their game. This is not making babies of the players, it is more accepting that this is the hole the Lakers find themselves in for the time being.
drrayeye says
I like the trade. I hope that he will be up to defensive assignments as much as Lou was up to scoring assignments. Maybe he can be MWP without fouling.
mwheelonh says
Renato Afonso
I don’t know if this is really a “let’s see what we’ve got” situation. We already know what we’ve got–getting them more minutes in more situations is seeing what they can and have become. Assessing progress, not overall capabilities.
We know that DAR has a jump shot that comes and goes, and defensive effort and intensity that seems to randomly spike and bottom out. We know that Randle is a beast when 100% engaged, and like an untalented kid trying to emulate Barkley when he’s not. And so on for the rest of the kids (except maybe Ingram, there’s a lot more “wonder what would happens” with him).
The biggest thing we should be looking for–and playing the kids heavy minutes in order to see–is the incremental changes from earlier in the year. As in, back in Nov/Dec, with a small lead in the 4th, DAR did X and Y, and that helped let the lead slip away. So let’s see if he makes all, some, or none of the same mistakes (or entirely new ones) after a couple of months of practice and growth.
Same goes for the other kids, and the only way to get the info we need is to play them heavy minutes in all kinds of situations–without looking over their shoulder or with an obvious better alternative to sub in for them–and see what happens.
denciox909 says
Its hard to make a verdict right now because the Lakers could always trade the draft picks (even more if they trade Swaggy P). Are they gonna just collect the draft picks or package them in a trade for a star? Remains to be seen and I’m sure the new regime will do their due diligence into making a solid decision. I do like the elevation of the Ryan West and the two other Buss boys (Joey and Jesse). They should work well with Rob Pelinka. I do feel like they need one more respected voice in there to kind of reign in the young execs (i.e. Jeff Weltman, Sam Presti, John Hollinger); someone with experience but also someone who’s open-minded to forward thinking. Magic can’t be too involved with the analytics and CBA but he can put people in place to succeed and generate an optimum result.
markymark888 says
Renato Afonso Very well said. I agree 100%
Pbz06 says
Some good points but I’m glad you’re not the GM or coach. You’re grading a 20 and 21 year old like they’re the finished product and expect them to be fully realized two way players. I bet you were critical of all the star players when they were that young (most were probably still in college 🙂 )
The criticism of Clarkson is fair. He’s about 3.5 years older than DAR (so is Nance) and closers to their ceiling. Clarkson has a lower PER than DAR btw.
Renato Afonso says
Pbz06 Unfortunatelly, most coaches share my opinion. I’m not judging a young players’ proficiency but rather their growth. DAR’s growth on the defensive side of the ball is almost non-existent and a real problem for the Lakers. Randle’s the same when he’s disengaged, hence my reference to his motivation issues.
Now let me ask you all one thing. The NBA season has 82 games of 48 minutes. A great team in Europe will play roughly 50 to 60 games of 40 minutes in one season, and that’s considering a deep run in Euroleague. The great players start playing at 16-17 and by the time they’re 21 they’ve played roughly 150 to 200 professional games. Even adjusting to the speed of the NBA, you get to 164 games in two seasons. 122 games (by DAR) is NOT a small sample size to measure a player’s growth on both sides of the ball when you’re a starter.
And I have no problem with DAR per se. I have a problem with Lakers’ fans assuming that he’s a superstar in the making when the rest of the world and other team’s fans don’t think so. Maybe we all have a purple shade glasses and are trying to make him something he’s not. He can be a very good player but severily flawed if he doesn’t improve on defense.
Clarkson improved defensively from last season to this one, even if he’s close to a finished product.