How This Trade Impacts Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers have to get creative when it comes to adding talent to the roster this offseason. While their free-agent signings have been solid based on what they had to spend, if they want to make a sizable change, it will have to come via trade.
The Lakers have been trying to trade Russell Westbrook, but there is only so much they will get back for him. Their hesitancy to include draft compensation as a sweetener along with Westbrook makes finding a trade partner difficult as well.
Desperate to make a change, the front office decides to trade Anthony Davis. In any deal for Davis, Los Angeles would be looking for players that can help them win right now and draft picks to restock their cupboard. In this deal with the Charlotte Hornets, that is exactly what occurs.
The Lakers receive a nice upgrade in the backcourt with the addition of Terry Rozier. Rozier is a solid two-way player in the backcourt that can initiate some offense and knock down 3-pointers on offense. On defense, he certainly makes things tough on his opponent, sometimes even picking people up fullcourt for 96 feet.
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P.J. Washington is an excellent fit alongside LeBron James, a floor-spacing big, knocking down 37.5 percent of his 3-point attempts in his career. His sometimes underwhelming rebounding can be compensated by Westbrook, who is one of the best rebounding guards in league history.
Kelly Oubre Jr. is another versatile forward that provides depth and is an upgrade on what the Lakers were trotting out there last season. If he can show more flashes of his performance with the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers would be getting a steal.
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The first-round picks will also prove valuable. Los Angeles will have an opportunity to add some young players to the mix down the road, compensating for all of the first-rounders they have traded away. They could also use the picks to bring in more established talent to upgrade the roster and compete once again as soon as possible,
