This week the Los Angeles Lakers used 3 of their 7 available 2nd round picks to trade, along with Kendrick Nunn, to trade for former number 9 overall pick Rui Hachimura. Hachimura, has had an up and down start to his young career after being selected in the 2019 lottery by the Washington Wizards. In three and half seasons in the nation's capital, Hachimura averaged 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He is going to be a restricted free agent this summer so he needs a new contract and after Washington did not want to meet his price on an extention so they decided to move on. The Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations (and lead basketball decision maker) Rob Pelinka said the Lakers ‘still have work to do.’ What moves can the Lakers make at the deadline and should they make a big trade?
At this point, the Lakers are 23-26 and sitting 13th in the Western Conference, which is bad, especially when you have LeBron James playing at the level he is playing at. Averaging 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 7.0 assists, James is still playing at an elite level in year 20 of his career. However, he won’t be playing at this level forever and the Lakers know it, which is why before the season Pelinka said “Let me be abundantly clear … (LeBron) committed to our organization, we’re going to commit to him - including those picks (the 2027 and 2029 first rounders the Lakers can trade) - to see him to the finish line.” They understand where LeBron is in his career and they understand just how good he still is. Yet, just like last season, the team stinks. In large part due to the Russell Westbrook trade. Now, Westbrook is still a good player and has played well for the Lakers since moving to the bench, but they gave up too much and his cap number is too high. His name has come up a lot in trade talks, dating back as far as the trade deadline last season (more on that later). Anthony Davis also not being healthy has played a part in the Lakers struggles this season. Davis had missed 20 games before returning to the lineup against the Spurs on Wednesday. Before his injury, AD had been LA’s best player, putting 27 and 12 a night with some even saying he might have had an MVP case. He was a monster and has done a really good job of transforming himself from playing mostly the 4 to becoming a true center this season, playing 98% of his minutes there this season according to Cleaning The Glass. Thus, the Lakers understood they did not need a center, instead trading for a wing who primarily plays the 4.
Hachimura is a good player, in his first game as a Laker, he had 12 points and 6 rebounds off of the bench. However, there is a reason Washington pulled the plug on the former 9th overall pick, he needs a new contract and the Wizards didn’t want to pay him. While I understand the deal helps the team this season, the Lakers can have up to as much as $27 million in cap space this summer. Is using half of that on Hachimura the smartest thing to do? Is trading 3 second round picks for Rui Hachimura the big move you want to make at the deadline? I do think he will help this team though. LA needs wings, big wings specifically and Hachimura fits that description. He can play the 3 or the 4 and can provide shooting next to LeBron. However, the defense is not good and that needs to improve if the Lakers are going to make a run at the postseason.
The Russell Westbrook trade debate is fascinating. The numbers aren’t horrible, 15.8 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.3 rebounds per night aren’t bad averages but the percentages leave a lot to be desired, shooting splits of .42/.29/.66 are dreadful, and what makes the 29% from 3 even worse is he takes 4 of them per game. We have all seen the worst of the worst Westbrook shot attempts, the memes are brutal, but they are not far off from what actually happens. As a result, the Lakers have to stop closing games with him because teams don’t dare him to shoot, they beg him too and he always takes the bait and about 75% of the time, it does not go in. However, no one is going to trade for Westbrook unless they are compensated with draft picks and the Lakers are in no place to trade future picks and his playmaking off of the bench has been something the Lakers have needed all season. We can talk about Zach LaVine or Bradley Beal but I don’t think Chicago or Washington have interest in those deals, the Indiana package of Buddy Hield and Myles Turner is interesting but is Indiana interested in that (they should be) and if they are we already talked about pretty much all of Anthony Davis’ minutes coming at the 5 and Thomas Bryant playing very well for the Lakers, I don’t think the Lakers do that trade. Is tossing a couple of seconds with Westbrook for Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson the deal LA should make? Would the Hornets take Westbrook and seconds for Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward? Should the Lakers want to do that, both Hayward and Rozier’s contracts are bad and would really affect the Lakers chances to win in the future. I don’t think the Lakers will trade Russ as it feels too complicated at this point. Patrick Beverly is much more likely to be moved and a player I expect will be traded by the February 9th deadline.
The Lakers have already made one move and may not be done. With LeBron James playing at the level he is, the team knows the window to make playoff runs is now and they need to try everything they can to cash in on that. It will be fascinating to watch to see what the Lakers do and see if Pelinka and crew have another trade to make.
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