The Lakers have discussed deals with at least five teams in the offseason, but so far there has been no follow-up.
The US media Fadeaway World recently posted a new four-way trade plan involving teams such as the Lakers, Hornets, Knicks and Jazz. But this is obviously not a 4-win deal to take each take, let's take a look at the specifics!
3 wins, 1 loss, 4 party big deal exposed
The deal involves a total of 6 players and two first-round picks, and the full scheme is as follows:
The Knicks sent out Reddish + Randle + Fournier + 2025 first-round pick (from the Bucks) to get Westbrook from the Lakers;
The Lakers sent Westbrook + 2027 first-round picks, from the Hornets to get Rozier, from the Jazz to get Bojan;
The Hornets send Rozier and get Randall from the Knicks;
The Jazz sent Bojan, got Reddish from the Knicks, Fournier, the first round of 2025 (from the Bucks), and the first pick of 2027 from the Lakers
Looking at this transaction plan of Perfect Media, I have two words in my heart: outrageous! For the Lakers, Jazz and Hornets, the deal is all earned, but for the Knicks, the deal is a loss to the home!
The Lakers sent Westbrook to the Knicks
The Lakers sent Westbrook to the Knicks, and only took a first-round pick in 27 years, saving their 29-year first-round pick. From the Hornets and the Jazz, Rozier and Bojan were exchanged for two quality instant players.
Bojan averaged 18.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game last season and shot 38.7 percent from three-point range, making him the team's second-highest scorer after Mitchell.
Rozier was also a bench bandit at the Hornets, averaging 19.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game and shooting 37.4 percent from three-point range.
And neither of them is a simple pitcher, and they all have good offensive ability to hold the ball.
What the Lakers currently lack is outside three-point firepower and bench bench depth, and the arrival of Bojan + Rozier can make up for this and open up space for James' offense on the court.
The Hornets 1 for 1 regain their powerful big forward
Originally, the Hornets planned to renew their contract with their big forward Bridges this offseason, but Bridges is likely to be unable to continue playing in the league because of things off the court. So the Hornets now also want to re-acquire a big forward player through the trade.
In this deal, they exchanged Rozier for Randall, which is honestly a bit unreasonable! After all, the two are not players of the same level at all!
Randle signed a four-year, $117 million contract with the Knicks last summer, and while his performance slipped last season, he averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, making him an All-Star-level player in the East.
Randle is also clearly better than Bridges, and if the Hornets can get him, the overall strength of the squad next season will be improved at once, and it can continue to impact the playoffs.
Knicks 4 for 1 blood loss trade
As I said at the beginning of my article, this 4-party deal is a 3-win-1 loss, and the only loser is the Knicks.
As we all know, the Knicks are known in the league for being wronged, because they tend to give a lot of chips in their trades and end up only exchanging players for unequal prices. But in my opinion, no matter how wronged the Knicks management is, it is unlikely that they will agree to this deal plan!
Westbrook was already a negative asset, and the sole purpose of taking over him was simply to make room for his salary when his contract expired next summer. As a result, in this deal plan, the Knicks directly sent Randle + Fournier + Reddish + 2025 first-round pick, only got Westbrook, not even a draft pick, if I am the team owner, absolutely do not do this kind of blood loss deal!
The Jazz got two more first-round picks
Finally, Jazz, the biggest winner of the deal! Just one Bojan was given away and got 2 players + 2 first rounds.
Fournier is a player of similar type to Bojan, and their star ratings are actually interchangeable, but on this basis, the Jazz also got a first-round pick for 3D players Reddish, Lakers and Knicks.
You know, in the two deals between Gobert and Mitchell, Angie has already taken back 9 first-round picks, plus these two first-round picks, 3 transactions to get back 11 first-round picks, the Jazz are definitely not one of the players with the most draft picks in the league in the next few years!
This is great news for them who are aiming to rebuild!
In summary, what do you think of this 4-party trading plan? Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss with me!