As a general rule, contending NBA teams favor veterans. Call it agism if you must, but older players tend to have a larger impact on winning. 

We’d chalk it up to the benefit of experience. Young players can have every bit of natural talent, but having spent such little time in the NBA means that they have less experience playing winning basketball. Eventually, they’ll be the type of veterans that contending teams target. 

With that said, a team can be too old as well. Older players have more mileage, making it more difficult to withstand the rigors of an NBA season. Ideally, even a contending team has some young legs to put on the floor to relieve their veterans. 

The Los Angeles Lakers learned that the hard way last season. In fact, they had the oldest roster in the NBA. This summer, they’ve taken steps to bring their average age down by landing young players like Thomas Bryant, Lonnie Walker IV, and Troy Brown Jr. 

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Los Angeles Lakers & Orlando Magic Updates

Still, most fans expect them to eventually trade Russell Westbrook, along with draft capital, for some win-now veterans.

Here’s a deal with the Orlando Magic that has them continuing their youth movement instead.