Los Angeles Lakers: What exactly was the plan at the NBA Trade Deadline
The Real Plan:
After I spent three days (give-or-take two days and 22 hours) pondering, and thinking, and finally coming up with the reason above for the Lakers miserable trade deadline, LA went into Boston and beat the heavily favored Celtics with an inspired effort from the whole team.
After I watched the game at TD Garden I realized my original theory was entirely wrong.
Magic and Pelinka weren’t trying to tank the season and get into the lottery, they were trying to inspire the whole team. They saw that nobody on the Purple and Gold, outside of LeBron, realized what an honor it was to be a Laker.
LA dropped winnable games to some of the worst teams in the league, like New York and Cleveland, and every player on the team (outside of Kuzma) looked like they were just going through the motions instead of playing with passion.
Magic and Johnson used the trade deadline as a tool to let everyone on the team understand that they could be dealt at any time and that nothing was guaranteed. They didn’t get punked by Dell Demps, instead, they used him to help push every Laker to play better. After watching what happened in Boston it appears that their master plan has started to pay dividends.
dark. Next. 3 Reasons The Deadline Was Not A Failure