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Los Angeles Lakers: Grading every move of Magic Johnson’s tenure

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 23: Magic Johnson, president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers talks to the media during a press conference on June 23, 2017 at the team training faculity in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 23: Magic Johnson, president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers talks to the media during a press conference on June 23, 2017 at the team training faculity in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

Trading for Isaiah Thomas from the Cleveland Cavaliers — A+

  • Date: February 8, 2018

Wow, was this move genius by the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time, it was painted as a great deal for both sides. Now, seven months removed from the trade, it is obvious that the Los Angeles Lakers got the better end of the deal.

The Lakers send Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. to the Cavaliers in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2018 first-round pick.

This move did give the Cavaliers the depth and athleticism the team needed to help LeBron James get back into the NBA Finals. While the new supporting cast did not have a huge role in the postseason, James was still able to carry this bunch into the Finals before getting swept by the Golden State Warriors.

James likely could have done that without Clarkson or Nance but they certainly helped in the regular season by giving the team a breath of fresh air.

Meanwhile, this move essentially opened the door for LeBron to come to the Lakers by giving the team that extra cap space by freeing up Jordan Clarkson’s $12 million cap hit.

While the Lakers were still unable to bring in a second star with this trade, it set up the current state of affairs for the franchise, which looks very promising. Not bad for two young players that were not going to start this season anyway.

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