Lakers surprisingly trade standout potential hidden gem

The excitement for a new season of Los Angeles Lakers basketball is tangible, but that excitement would increase tenfold if the front office finds a way to trade Russell Westbrook for viable rotation players.

The Lakers’ last hope in that regard might be the Indiana Pacers, who are rebuilding around their young backcourt and have previously entertained the idea of sending Buddy Hield and Myles Turner to Los Angeles for Westbrook and draft picks.

If we learned anything this offseason (see the Kyrie Irving saga), nothing is ever guaranteed. These discussions take time and Rob Pelinka isn’t going to sanction a blockbuster trade unless he’s sure he’s not getting swindled.

In the meantime, the Lakers are busy putting the finishing touches on their roster. That includes their G League affiliate, South Bay Lakers.

In rather surprising fashion, the Lakers traded G League standout Mason Jones to the Mexico City Capitanes in a three-team deal. In return, South Bay acquired a 2023 first-round pick, 2023 second-round pick and the player rights to Jordan Howard from Mexico City, as well as a 2023 first-rounder from the Iowa Wolves.

The Lakers have traded G League standout Mason Jones.

Suffice it to say nobody saw this coming.

Jones faced long odds to have a role on the 2022-23 Lakers, but most fans assumed he’d stick around for insurance purposes. In 28 starts for South Bay last season, Jones averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game and earned a spot on the All-NBA G League First Team.

The Arkansas product used that as a springboard into the Summer League, where he finished fourth on the Lakers in scoring, fifth in rebounds, second in assists and third in three-point percentage and minutes.

Speaking of that three-point percentage, Jones’ shooting ability is his main appeal. He nailed threes at a 40.3% clip on 181 attempts in the G League last season before shooting 43.8% during the 2022-23 Summer League. This comes after he shot 35.8% on 6.3 attempts per game over two years at Arkansas.

While offense and shooting are Jones’ calling cards, he’s also a strong defender. He record seven steals in a game last year and averaged 1.6 per game. Moreover, the former Razorback boasted an impressive 110.2 defensive rating.

At 6-foot-4 with a pretty stroke and length to close out shooters, Jones fit the profile of a potential mid-season call-up. Perhaps the Lakers, who are suddenly flush with backcourt depth following the Pat Beverley trade and Dennis Schroder signing, decided to cash in with Jones’ value as high as it’s ever been.

This isn’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but it’s admittedly head-scratching that the Lakers parted ways with one of their top G League talents. Let’s hope South Bay puts its newfound draft capital to good use.

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