Kawhi Leonard? Strike one! Paul George? Strike two! Anthony Davis…
Sure there are complaints on how Magic Johnson handled the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George trade talks. But, let’s be clear here, Leonard was no guarantee. Can we please stop with this argument.
It was reported that some of the young core (Brandon Ingram/Kyle Kuzma) was not offered up in the trade. Okay, that’s part of the story.
Look, the San Antonio Spurs are a very savvy bunch in the front office. Did you really think that the Spurs would have the Lakers give up everything in the cabinet plus season tickets to get Leonard?
Sure, he said he wanted to go to Los Angeles. But the last I checked, they do have two teams in Los Angeles. Plus, Kawhi Leonard says little to nothing about his moves. Johnson could not pull a trade without guaranteeing that he could get Leonard to re-sign!
After Paul George actually treated the Lakers like a dude that asks a girl to the prom on the first day of school, then changes his mind and goes with someone else. Magic assumed that they would meet in the offseason and make a deal. In that type of situation, why trade your assets? Plus, George made enough mistakes in his deal that cost him millions. George messed that up.
This scenario is different. Anthony Davis is better than both of these players and everything is open for discussion except for LeBron (Personally if both players weren’t under the same agent…I’d trade straight up LeBron for AD!).
Now that the plan has officially changed and the NBA world knows what the stakes are, Magic Johnson has to get this right. No assumptions, no underlying motives. If the Pelicans even decide to make a deal (A HUGE IF!) Johnson has no choice but to give the Pelicans everything they ask for.
Lonzo Ball? Gone!
Kyle Kuzma? Been fun!
Brandon Ingram? Got some nice parting gifts for you.
Ivica Zubac? We have that Los Angeles Lakers board game for you to play at home!
All draft picks should go with them to give LeBron James what he has been angling for since he got to Los Angeles. Fill the squad with veterans (Starting with Carmelo Anthony!) and make a playoff run. He won’t give full effort anyway until you do.
Speaking of those trade assets…