Los Angeles Lakers: The five best trades in franchise history
By Jason Reed
With the NBA Trade Deadline fast approaching, the Los Angeles Lakers trade rumors are heavy. Let’s take a step back and look at the best Lakers’ trades ever.
The Los Angeles Lakers are the most prestigious NBA franchise for a reason. The Lakers trail just the Boston Celtics in total championships and consistently have been in the title mix. If it were not for the immaculate streak Bill Russell and the Celtics went on in the late ’50s and ’60s, Los Angeles would be far ahead of the rest.
A big reason for that is the countless amount of superstars that have called the Lakers home. Some of the best players to ever hit the NBA court were Lakers. Los Angeles arguably has five of the NBA’s top ten all-time players in their rafters. They are that special.
A lot of that was homegrown, however, a lot of his was the result of some smart trades as well. In honor of the NBA trade deadline, which is approaching in under a week, we compiled the five best trades in Los Angeles Lakers’ history.
5. Pau Gasol trade:
Pau Gasol is not one of the superstars mentioned above, however, his inclusion on the Los Angeles Lakers kept one around; Kobe Bryant. Bryant was growing frustrated with the Lakers’ lack of success and even requested a trade.
The Lakers, not wanting to lose out on their superstar, decided to do something about it. Thus, before the trade deadline during the 2008 season, the Lakers sent a trade package littered with future picks and promising young talents for power forward Pau Gasol. Included in this were the 2007 draft rights to Marc Gasol.
It was exactly why Bryant needed. Alongside a few great years from Andrew Bynum, the Los Angeles Lakers needed. The Lakers then made three straight NBA Finals from 2008 to 2010, winning the 2009 and 2010 NBA Championship.
Without Gasol Kobe Bryant may have never won titles four and five and even could have went down as one of the most hated players in Lakers’ history. However, Bryant got his wish and the Los Angeles Lakers were able to start the decade on a bang.