The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a great trade at the deadline this season, potentially having a superstar fall into their lap.
The NBA trade deadline was a bittersweet day for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers traded away two fan favorites and great players in Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance, Jr. In return, they received Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, and Cleveland’s own first-round 2018 draft pick.
The logic here is that both Thomas and Frye are on expiring contracts, which means the Lakers could have tons of cap space this summer to pursue the likes of LeBron James, Paul George, or possibly an injured DeMarcus Cousins.
This is the plan that president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka have been hoping will pan out since taking control of the team midway through last season.
My point here: Did everybody forget who Isaiah Thomas is? Standing at only 5’9″, and a former 60th overall pick, he is a star player. He averaged nearly 30 points per game with Boston last season and was dubbed “King of the Fourth” for leading the league in fourth quarter scoring.
When he was first traded to Boston, they were a young team that wasn’t quite in the playoff picture. That is until Isaiah Thomas came to town and willed the team into the playoffs.
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Last season, he led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals before ultimately falling to the mighty Cleveland Cavaliers.
This guy was so beloved in Boston. He even suited up, and played well, only a day after his sister was killed in a car accident.
Then came a hip injury that sidelined him for about half of this season. He was essentially traded to the Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving, who is absolutely a superstar. Then came turmoil between Thomas and the Cavaliers in the only 15 games he played in. He and LeBron did not get along, and in Thomas’ words “it just didn’t click for whatever reason“.
The Cavs completely revamped their roster, and the Lakers ended up with the guy who was an MVP candidate last season. Also, Thomas clearly likes playing for the Lakers more than he liked playing for the Cavaliers.
The Lakers’ style of play fits his game well. In his first game with the Lakers, he recorded 22 points and six assists. This is without knowing the team’s plays, tendencies, etc.
Isaiah can now be the savior for the Lakers. He said he felt like he “got his powers back” after his first game with the Lakers.
If he can return to the way he was playing last season, he might even be able to pull off getting the Lakers into the playoffs.
Many fans are thinking we will let Thomas go after this season since LeBron doesn’t seem to want to play with him. But is it smarter to re-sign an All-Star level player who’s only 29 or smarter to go for LeBron?
Remember when Paul George was commenting on if the Lakers would be in his future? He said it would have to be a situation where other stars are coming, too.
Let’s hope Isaiah returns to a 29 points per game type player, helps the Lakers make the playoffs, then the Lakers sign Paul George this summer. LeBron is tempting, but he will be 34 in December, and who knows if he’s really considering LA? Thomas and George are both in their primes, and we know for sure that George is considering LA (his dog is named Kobe).
The best part of this scenario is it would allow the Lakers to re-sign Julius Randle. You know, the double-double machine who we would regret letting go years from now. He’s also the only player currently on the team who played in games with Kobe Bryant, which is valuable.
There are also other Lakers currently developing into stars. A nucleus of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Julius Randle, Isaiah Thomas, Paul George, and Josh Hart sounds intriguing.
Thomas grew up a Lakers fan, so he will be thrilled to help this team succeed. I’m just mind-boggled how his market value dropped so quickly. As a Laker fan, I know we need someone to step up and close out the close games.
We had Kobe as our closer, then Lou Williams, who is with the Clippers now. Who better to fill the role of the closer than the “King of the Fourth”?
I think all Lakers fans should be very excited to see if Isaiah can do for LA what he did for Boston.
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What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments below!