The Deal
The Lakers send Lou Williams to the Rockets for Corey Brewer and a first-round pick.
This Deal Summed Up in a Video
That’s Daryl Morey rn. I’ll let Danny Chau explain: “This is the Rockets making sure no other playoff power gets their hands on Lou’s weapons-grade shot creation. Sorry, Jazz. Sorry, Wizards. Also, Lou Will has never scored at least 50 points in a game and Corey Brewer has, so this isn’t even that bad of a trade. Signed, Corey Brewer’s biggest fan.”
The Winner
Rob Pelinka.
To paraphrase Ebby “Nuke” LaLoosh from Bull Durham, the presumptive new Lakers general manager just announced his presence with authority. The Lakers get a first-rounder from the Rockets — which is a great return on Williams by itself. Swapping Williams for Brewer is also a great shadow tank move.
Lou Will is leading the Lakers in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game. Corey Brewer is leading the Rockets in sitting next to Sam Dekker. The Lakers need to be in the top three of the 2017 NBA draft or their pick goes to Philadelphia and the city has to change its name to Hinkiedelphia.
Magic Johnson is overseeing basketball operations, but Pelinka, a player agent best known for repping Kobe Bryant, is calling the shots. It’s not even his first day on the job and he’s put his fingerprints on the team. And he might not be done.
The Caveat
That’s what Kevin thinks.
Here’s more Chau: “This means that the Rockets can go all 48 minutes with at least one elite pick-and-roll scorer in the lineup. Both [James] Harden and Williams are in the 90th percentile of all ball handlers in the two-man game. The Rockets might not score below 120 points for the rest of the season.”
