Los Angeles Lakers: What the trade with Cleveland Cavaliers means
By Ed Schrenzel
What does the Los Angeles Lakers trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers mean for the team?
As every Los Angeles Lakers fan knows by now, on Thursday the team traded Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr to the Cleveland Cleveland Cavaliers. In exchange, the Lakers received Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and the Cavs 2018 first round draft pick. What does the trade mean for the Lakers future?
To begin with, it shows that Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka are not content to sit back and wait for the ‘Baby Lakers’ to reach their potential. Instead, Johnson’s vision is to sign at least one and preferably two elite players, either this summer or in 2019.
The intent is to have them guide youngsters like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma, and perhaps rapidly-developing Josh Hart, to the promised land of competing for an NBA title.
Two of those Baby Lakers, Clarkson & Nance (both notably drafted during the Jim Buss/Mitch Kupchak era) were just traded for two veterans with expiring contracts. It is certainly possible, if not probable, that neither Thomas nor Frye will be re-signed.
On the surface that means that Clarkson and Nance were essentially swapped for what is currently the 24th pick of the June draft, which of course doesn’t make much sense.
More from Lake Show Life
- Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
- Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
- Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
- Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
- Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated
The larger picture must be considered. With Clarkson’s salary off the books, the Lakers achieved their goal of creating tremendous cap space flexibility. Now they can embrace Magic’s coveted strategy of pursuing top free agents.
Interestingly enough, that was exactly the approach that Kupchak tried, unsuccessfully, although he had a much less talented roster with which to attract newcomers. And he didn’t have Johnson’s magical personality and salesmanship.
Clarkson and Nance Jr. will be missed. Each was a significant contributor to the team’s highly successful second unit. Clarkson had become one of the league’s best-scoring 6th men. Nance provided energy and crowd-pleasing dunks, and was a good teammate, although he was offensively limited. In the eyes of the front office, it was necessary to sacrifice them to reach the ultimate goal: an NBA championship.
There are three prime free agents this summer. One of them, DeMarcus Cousins, recently tore his Achilles. He will undergo a long recovery, and he may or may not be the same player afterward. Will the Lakers take a chance at trying to sign him anyway?
Much has been written in the past year about Paul George. His future plans are unknown. But what is known is that he and Russell Westbrook are now flourishing together in Oklahoma City, causing most insiders to speculate that George will remain there.
Then there is LeBron James, who thrives on being the object of conjecture and wants everybody to pay attention to HIS DECISION. Nobody really knows what he will do. But at age 33, he must take a shorter-term view. The chances are he will remain in the East where his road to the Finals isn’t blocked by the Warriors, Rockets and Spurs.
So, although Johnson expressed confidence that he can wave his magic wand and sign the best free agents, there is a strong possibility that it won’t happen this summer. Instead, the Lakers might have to wait for the potentially very attractive free agent class of 2019.
In the meantime, there are many other important roster decisions to be made. First and foremost, what will the front office do about restricted free agent Julius Randle?
Magic recognized in his press conference that Randle is playing the best ball of his career. In fact, he has become a beast near the hoop, a virtually unstoppable force. He has elevated his play so much that he is approaching the upper echelon of power forwards.
Los Angeles Lakers
Re-signing Randle would appear to be a no-brainer. Yet, the Lakers continue to wonder if they’d be better off allowing him to leave to create even more cap space with which to pursue marquee free agents. Doesn’t the old adage, ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’, apply here?
More cap room will eventually be created when the Lakers inevitably buy-out Luol Deng or waive and stretch his contract, which still has two more years left after this one. Deng has not played in a game since Opening Night, and it is clearly in the interest of all parties to part ways. The Lakers will take action at the time that is most favorable for them.
Then there is the matter of Thomas. Chances are nobody has ever referred to I.T. as a mentor, which is a role Magic wants him to play with Ball. The season’s remaining 29 games amounts to an audition for him.
With a new contract on the line, whether it’s with the Lakers or another team, it’s up to Thomas to prove if he has fully recovered from his hip injury and returned to all-star form.
Pelinka has said that some of the Lakers salary room could be spent on the team’s own free agents. In addition to Randle, Thomas and Frye, that includes Brook Lopez, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Corey Brewer. It remains to be seen which if any of them will be in a Lakers uniform next fall, although perhaps somebody will commit to a one-year contract.
The pressure is now squarely on Johnson and Pelinka to deliver on their pledge to upgrade the Lakers roster. In the final analysis, the trade can only be fairly evaluated when we see what other players are signed.
Next: Lakers Among Winners of 2018 NBA Trade Deadline
Fans of the team can only hope that Johnson can perform the same magic in the front office as he did on the court for the 1980s Showtime Lakers.