The Los Angeles Lakers have so far made sensible moves and controlling owner Jeanie Buss sees things turning around soon. There is no timetable though it seems Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka will see results soon.
Rookies Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma are turning out to be prized recruits, hopefully, game changers. Aside from that, there is also Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a veteran who can add more firepower. These are key pawns in the mix, looming as better choices compared to the ones made the previous seasons.
Jeanie Buss cannot see logic behind Deng, Mozgov signing
Before she took over, Jeanie Buss witnessed the moves made by her brother, Jim Buss, and former general manager, Mitch Kupchak. They did make questionable moves but nothing beats the massive deals given to Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov.
Of the two, the deal involving Deng makes a bit of sense. He is a proven commodity, though most of that happened when he was still with the Chicago Bulls. Seeing how he has been trying to recall his old self, there was a big chip on his shoulder to lead the Lakers. As most know, none of that happened. Deng is still around so he still has the opportunity to prove that. Sadly, that does not hold true for Mozgov.
The Russian big man never really made an impact and most believed the deal was something outrageous. Mozgov did show his talent in some games but the point is that most did not merit a fat deal.
The Lakers got rid of him, trading him to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the D’Angelo Russell for Brook Lopez deal. While that should be a sigh of relief, Jeanie Buss is still at a loss trying to figure out what her brother and Kupchak had in mind.
Was there a sense of direction in all of it?
New management makes more sense
With Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak gone, the outlook seems better for the Lakers. They showed some of that in Las Vegas and now most are hoping to see that carried on in the regular season. Will it be enough to land a playoff slot at the least?
Ball, Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope are key additions so the key may be chemistry.
Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram are still around so most of it falls into the hands of second-year coach Luke Walton.
Looking to the 2017-18 NBA season, Walton will have another year to work on the young Lakers core. He has shown brilliance and, hopefully, it returns better results with the questionable thorns out of the way. He proved that during the early part of the 2016-17 NBA season, so stakes are higher this time around.
