While the Lakers lost to the Suns last night, the fourth straight dominating performance by center Anthony Davis, this time against a much tougher opponent in Deandre Ayton, was more important than winning the game.
The resurgent Lakers gave the more talented Suns everything they could handle, almost overcoming a 36-point disadvantage in 3-point shooting by making 26 more free throws and scoring 10 more points-in-the-paint.
While the Lakers’ poor 3-point shooting doomed them to lose this game, the continued dominance by AD is looking more and more like the real thing. Last night’s performance was Davis’ best in the last four games.
Rob Pelinka has promised the Lakers would trade both first round draft picks if the team proved worthy of that investment and if the trade would actually transform the team into a legitimate championship contender.
The Lakers should win the next 4 games and finish November 9–11, winning 7 of their last 8 games with AD as the featured superstar and proving to management the team was worthy of trading the two picks.
Here’s a three-team, three-player mega trade between the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, and Indiana Pacers that will transform the L.A. from a likely lottery team to a legitimate NBA championship contender:
The Three-Team, Three-Player Trade
The Lakers trade Russell Westbrook and an unprotected 2027 pick to the Nets for Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry plus Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, and an unprotected 2029 first round pick to the Pacers for Myles Turner.
The trade is salary neutral for all three teams, meaning no increase in current season payroll or luxury taxes. None of the involved players qualify as recently traded or signed so there is no need to wait before trading.
Another benefit for all the teams is the six players involved are on expiring contracts so the trade would thus be ‘cap space neutral’ and ‘salary neutral.’ Teams would have the same amount of cap space after as before the trade.
The big question is whether these three teams really want to trade. The Lakers talk about sacrificing this season to keep their picks for a mega trade this summer. Who knows what the Nets and Pacers are going to do.
For them, the trade is not about the players coming back. Whether this trade happens or not comes down to the value Brooklyn and Indiana assign Los Angeles’ post-LeBron James unprotected first round draft picks.
This trade solves each of the team’s major personnel issues without hurting their current salary, luxury tax, or cap space situations. Lakers move Russ. Nets dump Kyrie, Pacers avoid losing Turner to free agency for nothing.
Why the Los Angeles Lakers Make the Trade
The Lakers make the trade because it transforms them from a lottery team to legitimate championship contender. Adding Irving and Turner to James, Davis, and Walker could give the Lakers’ the league’s best starting lineup.
Swapping Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, and Kendrick Nunn for Kyrie Irving, Seth Curry, and Myles Turner gives the Lakers three players who can shoot the three and a stretch five center who can protect the rim.
In addition to solid bench contributors like Dennis Schröder, Seth Curry, and Austin Reaves, the Lakers should have dramatically improved depth along with the improved versatility to play jumbo big or super small.
Besides upgrading the starting lineup and depth, the trade essentially swaps one package of expiring contracts for a different package, meaning the Lakers will still have $35 million in open cap space this summer.
That will give them the option of using Bird rights or some or all of their $35 million in open cap space to re-sign or extend Irving, Curry, Turner, and/or Walker or use some or all of the cap space to sign free agents.
This is the perfect trade for the Lakers as it not only gives them a chance to win their 18th NBA championship this season but also gives them three elite players who could easily be valuable teammates going forward.
Why the Nets and Pacers Make the Trade
The Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers are interested in trading with the Los Angeles Lakers for one simple reason. They both want the opportunity to trade for the Lakers 2027 and/or 2029 unprotected first round draft picks.
The reason these picks are projected to be so valuable is the fact that they’re unprotected and are for seasons when superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis will both likely have retired and no longer with the team.
Opposing teams remember the Lakers picking 7th, 2nd, and 2nd in the NBA Draft in the years immediately following Kobe Bryant’s retirement. That’s why there’s so many teams looking to acquire those Lakers picks.
Like the Lakers, the Nets and the Pacers will also appreciate that the trade does not affect the team’s current salary, luxury taxes, or open cap space. What it does do, however, is accomplish major goals for both teams.
For the Nets, the main goal is to get rid of Kyrie Irving so they can move on. For the Pacers, it’s getting maximum return for center Myles Turner so they don’t have to risk losing him for nothing in free agency this summer.
The Nets want to dump Irving and the Lakers are their only possible trading partner. The Pacers want to move Turner before they lose him for nothing in free agency. What they both want are the Lakers’ picks.
