Los Angeles Lakers GM Rob Pelinka caught multiple strays for not making the right moves. His signings this season weren’t all positive, but he fixed most of the roster’s issues with some major trades before the deadline.
Darvin Ham now has a team that’s more suited for the style he wanted to impose since his arrival in Southern California. They have shootersand switchable defenders who can guard multiple positions.
But LeBron James is not getting any younger,and their title window might close right before their eyes. That’s why these moves were so crucial, as they set the team up for success in the future as well, or so they think.
Lakers Want To Keep Their New Guys
(Transcript via Sean Deveney— Heavy)
“The Lakers had to reluctantly cough up their 2027 first-round pick to overhaul the roster, and teams around the league are well aware that could be a very valuable pick when it crops up.
Mostly, though, the Lakers are aware. They did well to clutch tightly to the pick and bolster its value before ultimately trading it in a very good package to the Jazz.
‘They would never have given up that pick unless they planned to make some long-term investments,’ one GM told Heavy Sports. ‘They were willing to trade it but they needed some guys just heading into their primes to convince them to give it up. Now they’ve got (D’Angelo) Russell, they’ve got (Jarred) Vanderbilt, they’ve got Malik Beasley, plus (Rui) Hachimura, Austin Reaves. We’ll see what they do with Mo Bamba, too.’
‘That’s a base of young players that they did not have before, you know, guys who are mid-20s (in age). They’re going to keep those guys in place. They’re all in on paying those guys.'”
This team looks like they could be going places in the foreseeable future, so this is great news for Lakers fans, especially with all the speculation surrounding Anthony Davis and whether he’ll be traded or not.
