Fat and strong material | Vanderbilt's injury will accelerate the Lakers' quest for a trade

In the morning, I saw a lot of friends commenting that Vanderbilt was injured and the Lakers could give up this season - tell me my opinion on this issue.

I think Vanderbilt's injury, instead of making the Lakers abandon the season, will accelerate their quest for a trade.

Let's start with Vanderbilt's role:

Vanderbilt is the key to the coexistence of the high-end game pull + interior combination, he is like an "insurance", taking on the heavy responsibility of opposing those star backcourt and star wings for the Lakers. It is a key part of the closed loop of offensive and defensive logic.

His role is irreplaceable by Reddish and Christie - Reddish and Christie are not suitable for the big wing, and no matter how much they contribute to the defense, they can't match Van der Biao. Even on the offensive end, in addition to being good at three-point points, these two are not as good as Vanderbilt in handling the ball and finishing under the basket. (And Vanderbilt can also provide a huge rebounding contribution.) ）

Vanderbilt is the safest "insurance" for the Lakers' pull-and-li-ri combination, and now that he is injured, this "insurance" is gone, and the Lakers can either find a new "insurance" or have to change the combination.

That's why a trade is needed — the first reason why the Lakers will speed up the trade.

So why not just give up on this season? There are four more reasons.

First of all, although Vanderbilt is an important part of the team's system, he is not indispensable - he himself has been absent for a long time + played for just over ten minutes this season, and although the Lakers have been damaged, they are not to the point where they can't play.

Vanderbilt, on the other hand, also dropped out of the rotation in the playoffs last season — in fact, he was less "indispensable" to the team than "expected Vincent."

Although Vanderbilt's role is not a substitute for the Lakers' current roster, it can still be found in the league:

Caruso and Grant as we mentioned earlier are options that can replace him and complete the "upgrade", including the arrival of Murray, changing the combination of pulling + Li backcourt double leaks, and also changing the offensive and defensive logic of the lineup.

Second, even if not for this season, the Lakers have a reason to trade:

1. Vanderbilt has actually had serious attendance problems in his career, his style of play is easy to get injured, and it is not advisable for the team to rely on him so much;

2. Russell, we said that if the Lakers don't trade him, there is a risk of losing him in the offseason, and the playoff team has little interest in him, his future trade value is not as good as Dejounte Murray, and renewing his contract will weaken the Lakers' future operational flexibility to a certain extent;

3. The Lakers also need to take into account Zhan Mei's emotions - Zhan Mei is in such good shape this season, just because of an injury to a Vanderbilt, the team is going to give up the season? What will this make the two team bosses think? Especially what will LeBron James think? You must know that he has a player option in the summer......

To sum up, the Lakers have no reason to walk away from the trade and give up this season from any point of view — and, there is a fourth reason.

The fourth reason is about the Lakers' "longer-term plan" - this plan is not just about this season, but about the next five years, the next ten years.

Let me ask you a question, what is the most important goal of the Lakers in the "post-James era"?

Is it a championship? This season it is. But that's just the appearance.

James at the end of his career is still strong. But it's already more difficult to build a championship team around him than the rest of the league's championship core — so why are the Lakers going to all the lengths to build a team around him and help him compete for a championship?

The reason is simple:

Championship competition is important, but the Lakers know that more important than championship competition is to build the Lakers' image in the minds of superstars — just as the Lakers' attitude towards twilight Kobe Bryant attracted James, and their attitude toward twilight James will determine their attraction to the next superstar.

So, in fact, at this stage of James' career, what they really have to do is to use James's huge attention and influence. Build the team's brand, show the manager's temperament, and ensure the team's future appeal to superstars - and their team brand and team temperament must not include the "give up the season once the championship hope is not good".

Truth be told, if the Lakers were such a team, they wouldn't have to wait for Vanderbilt to get injured and would have given up on the season.

This has actually become a "sunk cost" issue again - the Lakers have already paid so much "sunk cost" for the Zhan Mei era, and this season can be said to be the season of Zhan Mei's best state and the strongest team except for 2020.

(Not to mention that the deals they need don't cost much)

It's impossible.