The Los Angeles Lakers look vastly different than they did just 4 years ago. At this time 4 years ago, the Lakers were a floundering young team with a lot of young stars with high potential. Since then, they’ve assembled a superstar roster and even gone on to win an NBA championship. And currently, they have a big three and are looking to win another NBA championship.
The Lakers signed LeBron James during the offseason of 2018. And the following year, they executed a massive trade to bring New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis. Davis appeared to be the missing piece, as he and LeBron James brought the Lakers an NBA championship in 2020.
Last year, the Lakers were not very good, as they crashed out of the playoffs in the first round. To make sure that they would have a better chance this season, the Lakers pulled off yet another big superstar trade, as they brought in Russell Westbrook to their squad to form a big three.
A look at the deals to land Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook shows how much the Los Angeles Lakers gave up to get them.
For Anthony Davis, the Lakers gave up Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and a 2019 first-round pick that turned out to be DeAndre Hunter. As for Westbrook, the Lakers gave up Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, along with a 2021 first-round pick that turned out to be Isaiah Jackson.
The Lakers could have looked very different had they not pulled off either trade. But the Lakers won’t regret what they gave up to land Anthony Davis, as it helped them win an NBA championship in one season alone. But they probably don’t feel the same way about the Russell Westbrook trade, as his arrival has led to the Lakers becoming worse on defense than they used to be.
Perhaps the Westbrook deal works out in the end. But as things stand, there are a lot of problems with the Lakers. The Lakers’ big three have not gotten a lot of time to play together. Perhaps them playing together will allow them to build more chemistry and play like the championship team we all expected them to be at the beginning of the season.
