1. Andre Drummond to the Los Angeles Lakers
This is not homer bias and this is not me simply telling the readers of Lake Show Life what they want to hear. I try and be as objective as possible, heck, I just wrote an article yesterday about the things that could hold the Lakers back from making the NBA Finals this season.
Some fans didn’t appreciate the notion that the Lakers might not make the NBA Finals, but it is a legitimate possibility.
As I mentioned earlier, Drummond is a bit overrated by some NBA fans. His box score numbers are otherworldy but there is a reason why every team he has been on is poor. He has been an empty stats player and it will be interesting to see what he does on a contending team.
That being said, he still has the skills that the Los Angeles Lakers needed to add. He gives the team a better version of Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee, which is huge. Gasol has been poor this season, but now as a bench center, the Lakers suddenly seem very deep at the position.
This is the most impactful because of the mismatches it reduced as well as the mismatches it created for the Lakers. Teams like the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers, who have elite centers, suddenly are not as big of a matchup nightmare for the Lakers.
Meanwhile, the team now has even more of a size advantage against other contending teams like the Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets.
Blake Griffin was the biggest name on the buyout market but Andre Drummond was arguably the most talented. The Los Angeles Lakers not only got the most talented but the best possible fit.