The #Houston Rockets have acquired shooting guard #Lou Williams from the Los Angeles Lakers at this year's NBA trade deadline, according to The Vertical.
Houston gave up small forward Corey Brewer and its unprotected first round pick of this year's NBA Draft to complete the trade.
For both sides, it seems to be a win-win situation.
Overview
The Houston Rockets, a team hoping to achieve big things in the NBA this season, has just gotten better.
They have signed a reliable scorer who can make life tougher for any opponents at any given night. On the season, Lou Williams, a candidate for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, has averaged 18.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game off the bench in Los Angeles. If we account that Houston already has a similar scorer in the name of Eric Gordon - it can without any doubt be said that no team in the NBA has two more dynamic off the bench scorers than the Rockets. With averages of 17.2 points per night off the bench, shooting guard Gordon is a top candidate for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.
When it comes to Lakers, they've profited too - even though they've lost their top scorer. Without Williams - who had the ball in his hands a lot while on the court - the team's young core will have more opportunities to develop. With a record of 19 wins and 39 losses, the Lakers hold the 14th spot in the Western Conference and the third worst in the whole league. They certainly won't be making the playoffs. The only way for the Lakers to keep their top-3 pick is to not to be drawn outside the top-3 in the lottery picks. Losing or tanking in order to keep its top-3 pick - is a preferable option for a young Laker team - as this year's draft is one of the deepest in recent years.
Since the DeMarcus Cousins trade to the New Orleans Pelicans from the Sacramento Kings, the one between Houston and LA seems to be the most important one.
Earvin ''Magic'' Johnson wasted no time in the office.
Earlier on Tuesday, it was announced that the Lakers are parting ways with General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Jim Buss. Effective immediately - #Earvin ''Magic'' Johnson was been named new President of Basketball Operations of the Lakers - replacing Kupchak.
Johnson didn't wait for too long to finalize his first deal, as the trade with the Houston Rockets came just a couple of hours after he was given the function in the team. The #NBA trade deadline closes on February 23rd, 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT, and it remains to be seen if Johnson is going to make more deals in the upcoming hours.