The Cavaliers made a profit from this deal. Nance and Clarkson are both good combatants, at least better than Isaiah Thomas, who has been playing in and out due to injuries and has extremely low efficiency.
Wang Feng understands the Lakers' thinking. No matter what, Isaiah Thomas played as a top star with the Celtics last season, and the current Lakers lack an excellent point guard.
Although Lang Zuo Ball seems to have great potential, he is still too young. His performance in the regular season is mediocre, and he may not be able to shoulder the heavy responsibility in the playoffs.
Trade Thomas to get a chance. If he still retains a certain level of combat effectiveness at his peak, the Lakers will definitely make a lot of money.
After all, although Nance and Clarkson performed well, their positions overlap with Ingram and Pope. Even if they are traded out, there will not be much loss.
It's a pity that Thomas' hip stretch caught the Lakers by surprise. This gambling-style transaction ended up causing the Lakers to suffer more losses.
…
Wang Feng thought twice, then shook his head and said.
"Erwin, I don't think this year is the most appropriate time to choose trade reinforcements. More importantly, there is no suitable candidate now. If we force a trade, it is impossible to exchange for satisfactory players."
There are only a few top-quality point guards in the league, and none of them have any plans to leave the team yet. Although the Lakers have a lot of bargaining chips, they have nothing to offer.
It's very simple. Even if the Lakers packaged all the players except Wang Feng to trade Curry, the Warriors would not be able to agree. Even Westbrook is the same now.
Unless a top superstar doesn't want to stay with the team, it's impossible for the team to trade him out.
In fact, Wang Feng had a better candidate for the point guard position before, and that was the famous Rondo and Rajon Rondo.
The former top point guard of the Celtics did not have a satisfactory time with the Bulls last season, averaging only 7.8 points and 6.6 assists per game. He was waived by the Bulls after the season, and then signed a one-year contract with New Orleans for 3 million.
contract.
In fact, when Wang Feng joined the Lakers, he immediately thought of this experienced point guard. Unfortunately, Rondo signed with the Pelicans too quickly. The Lakers were a step too slow and could only watch helplessly.
Although Rondo has had a bad year in recent years, he obviously still has gas in the tank.
In another time and space, Rondo averaged 8 points and 8 assists per game for the Pelicans. Although the statistics were not impressive, his excellent court control ability kept the Pelicans in order.
The Pelicans won 48 games in the 2017-18 regular season, which was the most wins the team has won since Paul left the team.
Some people also say that the Pelicans have a lot to do with the fact that Cousins came to the Pelicans to form a twin tower with Anthony Davis this season, but Rondo’s contribution cannot be ignored, especially entering the playoffs, his statistics
He averaged 10 points, 7.6 rebounds and 12 assists per game, making him an absolute playmaker.
Rondo, who joined the Lakers a year later, can still average 9 points and 8 assists per game. In the 19-20 season, after the Lakers formed the explosive combination of James + Anthony Davis, he successfully won the championship with the team.
.
The current Rondo definitely still has a certain level of strength, and his defensive ability among defenders is also among the league's best. The reason why he can only sign a veteran with a minimum salary is partly due to his personality. After moving to many teams, he will always compete with the main players.
The conflict between the coach and his teammates is indeed a bit extreme.
On the other hand, it's because of his poor shooting accuracy.
Long's lack of shooting is not just a joke. His shooting is really inaccurate. Whether it is mid-range or long-range or three-point shooting, it is seriously unqualified. It is not even as good as some inside centers in the small ball era, such as Anthony David.
Si, Joel Embiid.
Even when the Lakers won the championship, his long-range shooting improved slightly, but it was only compared to his previous self, and he was still not competitive enough.
In the small ball era, even centers have begun to shoot three-pointers. If a guard can't shoot three-pointers, how can he still play?
Besides, Rondo is already quite old, so naturally he has become what he is now.
In Wang Feng's view, if you win Rondo next summer, you can basically serve as the main point guard of the Lakers, because point guards will not be the mainstream of the league in the next few seasons. In the small ball era, except for Curry and Curry.
Other than that, it basically belongs to the era of strikers.
If you count the NBA championships in recent years, every team that wins the championship has a top striker.
James of the Cavaliers, Durant of the Warriors, Leonard of the Toronto Raptors, the forward combination of James and Davis of the Lakers, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks top the list. (Here’s a reminder,
In the timeline that the protagonist travels through, the 2022 playoffs have only reached the first round, so the Warriors’ championship in 2022 does not count.)
In addition to these winning forwards, there are also top small forwards such as Paul George and Jimmy Butler active in the league, and in the future there will be rising stars like Luka Doncic.
On the other hand, look at guards, especially point guards.
What will top guards like Westbrook, Lillard, Irving, Wall and others look like in a few years...
The only ones still active in the playoffs are Curry and Paul. The latter has been reduced to an auxiliary role and is not the absolute core of the team.
If Wang Feng is asked to choose, he is also the second boss who needs to sign with a maximum salary, and he will definitely be more inclined to choose a forward player with a higher ceiling.
Now that the position of the game is becoming more and more immature, the point guard who needs to control the ball is no longer so important. Faster offensive and defensive transitions, stronger physical fitness, both internal and external, and good at both offense and defense. Such an all-round warrior is
Kingly way!
Besides, Wang Feng doesn’t know how to pass the ball now, but that doesn’t mean he won’t in the future. In fact, after a few seasons, Wang Feng is fully confident to compete for the league’s assists king!
…
I heard Wang Feng say this.
Johnson nodded slightly.
The hero sees the same thing, he and Wang Feng have the same idea.
This season is not the best time for the Lakers to strengthen. What they should do is to develop slowly, wait until next year, first use the salary space to sign a star, and then use the potential rookies obtained in the draft in recent years to trade for a star.
By forming the standard combination of the Big Three, the Lakers truly have the capital to compete for the championship.
"Okay, Wang, I will explain your views to the team's senior management and then discuss the team's future development. You just need to play the game with peace of mind. I will take care of everything."
The conversation between Wang Feng and Johnson is over.
He didn't know how much his words would affect the other person.
But at least Wang Feng feels that Johnson is not the kind of idiot who picks up the sesame seeds and loses the watermelon, otherwise the Lakers would not later form the explosive combination of James and Davis to win the championship.