JaVale McGee
Brook Lopez went on record saying that wanted to re-sign with the Lakers this past offseason, but the Lakers decided to go in different direction.
The diverse path that Magic and Pelinka decided on, was to sign JaVale McGee. JaVale averaged 9.5 minutes per game last season for the Warriors, but the Lakers dynamic front office duo decided to pick up McGee as the Lakers starting center.
There could be two reasons why “Maginka” signed JaVale McGee over Brook Lopez.
They wanted to play at one of the fastest paces in the NBA and they thought that Lopez was too much of a lumbering center to play at the “Showtime” speeds they envisioned. Regrettably, Magic and Pelinka were wrong, again. The Bucks, with Brook Lopez in the starting lineup, have played at the 6th fastest pace in the NBA.
They also liked McGee’s championship experience with the Warriors and they thought he could bring some of the knowledge he’d picked up in Golden State to the Lakers. Disappointingly, all of the vast stores of data that JaVale picked up from Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant hasn’t seemed to help the Lakers at all.
Magic and Pelinka should have re-signed Lopez because he would have been a perfect floor-spacing center next to LeBron, and he can also defend the paint.