Grading the Lakers’ trades from 2021:
- 8/6/2021 (5 Team Trade): Traded Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell to the Wizards; Traded a 2021 first-round pick (Isaiah Jackson) to the Pacers; Received Russell Westbrook, a 2023 second-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick from the Wizards | GRADE: F
This one has easily been the most ridiculed transaction of Pelinka’s time in LA. His intentions here were good, as it looked as though the team was acquiring its 3rd star and the 2nd best point guard to ever wear a Laker uniform.
Despite this, it was very clear that Pelinka and the front office were setting themselves up for failure as soon as they signed off on this trade. Westbrook, a triple-double-producing machine that had no fear with the ball in his hands, was never going to fit next to LeBron James. If this were about coupling Anthony Davis with a star point guard, things could have played out much differently.
However, this was not the case. The team was in need of floor-spacing, role-playing guys to surround its two stars with. Westbrook has never been mistaken as a floor-spacer, and he had never been asked to fit into a role to that point in his career.
Forget Harrell (who just did not really settle into a great role with the Lakers), but Kyle Kuzma and KCP were two guys that any Laker fan would take back in a heartbeat if the choice was granted. This was a swing for the fences, but a strikeout in the strongest sense.
- 9/10/2021: Traded Marc Gasol, 2024 second-round pick and cash to the Grizzlies for the draft rights to Wang Zhelin | GRADE: A
After the 2020-2021 season, it was clear that Marc Gasol was not coming back to the Lakers. Once Andre Drummond was brought in and took over the reins as the starting 5, Gasol found himself accumulating frequent DNPs the rest of that season and was undeniably unhappy about this. While he was under contract for another year to return to the team, he was obviously not interested in returning.
Rather than buying him out, the front office did right by the big man and sent him back to the team that he built such a successful career with in Memphis. This was a good look as it showed the front office’s willingness to work with it’s players to put them in the right situations.