Magic Johnson wasted no time making moves as the newly minted president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers traded Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets for Corey Brewer and a future first round draft pick yesterday evening. The move makes sense for both clubs as the Lakers under Johnson’s leadership are in the process of rebuilding, and the Rockets acquisition of Williams will make them that much deeper come playoff time.
Rockets championship chase
It is no secret the Rockets believe this is the season they break the team’s championship drought.
Currently, the team sits third in the Western Conference standings behind the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. The team has a candidate for MVP in the form of James Harden, and Mike D’Antoni’s high-octane offense has his name in the running for Coach of the Year. Along with sharp shooting veterans, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, young players such as Clint Capela and Sam Dekker are improving with each game too which is one of the reasons the team has been mentioned as a viable threat to the Warriors making the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year. The newly acquired Williams led the Lakers in scoring averaging 18.6 points per game coming off the bench, and is the highest leading scorer in the league coming off the bench; the Rockets’ Gordon is second in the league in bench scoring.
The Johnson era
After the firing of former Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and the hiring of basketball Hall of Famer Johnson to head the operation, the Lakers find themselves at the beginning of a new era. The team has a young, hungry, and talented coach with Luke Walton, and now have another first round draft pick to add to their nucleus of young players.
Reports coming in from Los Angeles state there may even be more shake-ups to come in the front office later this week, and Johnson has remarked on many occasions he is willing to take risks to make the Lakers relevant again. That is going to be a tall order for Johnson to fill too considering the Lakers currently sit second in the last place in the Western Conference standings.
