Grading the Lakers’ trades from 2020:
- 11/18/2020: Traded Danny Green and a 2020 first-round pick (Jaden McDaniels) to the Thunder for Dennis Schroder | GRADE: C
After winning a championship, you would expect a team to more or less run things back with the same team. As the saying goes, “if it aint broke don’t fix it”. The front office had different plans, as it looked to lighten the playmaking and scoring load on LeBron and AD. The first step in doing so was signing the 2019-2020 Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell (basically replacing Dwight Howard as the backup center).
The next step in doing so was trading for the award’s runner-up, Dennis Schroder. Danny Green received a lot of tough love from Laker fans in his lone season with the team, but there is no questioning that his 3&D talents and experience were vital to the team’s overall success. Trading him (and first-round pick Jaden McDaniels, who has become a solid player in Minnesota), for a 1-year flier on Schroder’s secondary playmaking looks a bit rough in hindsight.
- 11/23/2020: Traded JaVale McGee and a 2026 second-round pick to the Cavaliers for Jordan Bell and Alfonzo McKinnie | GRADE: D
JaVale McGee was a fan favorite in his time with the Lakers, and this trade was not meant to disrespect him. This one was rather a precursor to the signing of Marc Gasol, as the front office looked for a floor-spacing big to pair with Anthony Davis down low.
Seeing that the team already had it’s backup big in line (Harrell), there just was not really a need for McGee to remain on the roster. When looking back, however, it probably would have been smarter for Pelinka to use the Mid Level Exception funds spent on Harrell to bring in a 3&D wing option, and then simply keep McGee as the backup 5.
Jordan Bell was subsequently waived after this trade, and Alfonzo McKinnie never really played a role with the team during his lone season in LA.