New President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson just made it through his first trade deadline with the Lakers with some success. Now what?
After a week filled with rumors and speculation surrounding the Lakers possibly gutting the team for a superstar, the team is still intact. While the team made a couple of moves, it was nothing that jeopardized or improved the team’s immediate future.
The Lakers sent Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets for Corey Brewer and a first-rounder and also sent out Marcelo Huertas for 22-year-old point guard Marcelo Huertas. They are so far out of playoffs contention that any acquisitions they would have wouldn’t have changed that. After this season, there a couple of different directions Magic and the organization can go.
Magic stayed true to what he originally said when he was hired through the trade deadline. He said that he wanted the young guys to develop and then see where that would put the team. But with the way rumors were swirling around Laker Land before the deadline you have to wonder how long Magic will stick to that.
Can he really wait three or four years for Russell, Ingram, and Randle to fully develop or will he try to take the easy out and try to sign free agents or trade away young talent?
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If Magic can get superstars via free agency that would be something that hasn’t been done in some time. Now the Lakers have a younger team who superstar free agents should be excited about. If Magic can sign stars via free agency that’d definitely be the route to go.
The wrong route would be to give up the young talent to get an older superstar. The young talent on this roster should be held in high regards and shouldn’t be used to switch for a player already in their prime.
Magic can also go the homegrown route and let his stars grow from within the organization. Ingram and Russell both look like they have the potential to at least be all stars. Them plus Randle, Nance and Clarkson? That sounds like a good foundation to me and to a lot of other Laker fans.
So which route do you think Magic and the organization should take? Let us know in the comments and follow us @TheLakeShowLife!