{"id":15746,"date":"2024-12-30T04:45:39","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T04:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=15746"},"modified":"2024-12-30T04:45:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T04:45:39","slug":"magic-johnson-reacts-to-rob-pelinkas-major-lakers-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=15746","title":{"rendered":"Magic Johnson Reacts to Rob Pelinka\u2019s Major Lakers Move.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/GettyImages-813031286-e1685452179971.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/GettyImages-813031286-e1685452179971.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/GettyImages-813031286-e1685452179971.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/GettyImages-813031286-e1685452179971.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Magic Johnson Rob Pelinka\" width=\"780\" height=\"440\" data-img-load-time=\"701\" data-dom-ready-time=\"704\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka selected Lonzo Ball for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017 NBA draft.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0legend and former team president Earvin \u201cMagic\u201d Johnson praised Rob Pelinka for pulling off the trade that landed them versatile 3-and-D wing\u00a0Dorian Finney-Smith\u00a0and guard\u00a0Shake Milton.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLaker Nation, I am so excited about the trade for Dorian Finney-Smith,\u201d\u00a0Johnson said in a post on X. \u201cHe\u2019s an excellent defender and 3-point shooter \u2013 just what the Lakers needed!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally good move by Rob Pelinka. The Lakers also acquired Shake Milton,\u201d\u00a0he quickly added in a separate post on X.<\/p>\n<p>Pelinka pulled it off without giving up a first-round pick, which kept their powder dry for a bigger trade down the line.<\/p>\n<p>They could technically trade three first-round picks, but one of those is the top-4 protected pick in 2027, which they currently owe to the Utah Jazz in the\u00a0Russell Westbrook trade in 2023. They could trade that protection (meaning if it lands within the top four) in addition to their 2029 and 2031 selections.<\/p>\n<p>It only took three second-round picks (2027, 2030 and 2021),\u00a0D\u2019Angelo Russell\u2018s expiring salary, and seldom-used Maxwell Lewis to acquire Finney-Smith, one of the coveted 3-and-D wings in the trade market.<\/p>\n<p>The 6-foot-7 Finney-Smith gives the Lakers another big win who can defend multiple positions and a knockdown 3-point shooter. Milton provides backcourt depth after losing Russell in the trade and backup guard\u00a0Gabe Vincent to an oblique injury.<\/p>\n<p>Vincent sustained the injury in the Lakers\u2019 132-122 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, December 28, a few hours before the trade.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Lakers\u2019 Super-Size Wings<\/h2>\n<p>Finney-Smith gives the Lakers versatility and the much-needed perimeter defense that the smaller\u00a0Max Christie\u00a0has provided during their recent turnaround.<\/p>\n<p>Lakers rookie coach JJ Redick now has the option to roll out a jumbo lineup with\u00a0Austin Reaves,\u00a0Rui Hachimura, Finney-Smith,\u00a0LeBron James\u00a0and\u00a0Anthony Davis.<\/p>\n<p>The Lakers now have two of the rare super-size wings in the NBA.<\/p>\n<p>According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, Hachimura and Finney-Smith are only two of the nine NBA players who are 6-foot-7 or taller and are making at least 43% of their 3-point (minimum of 80 3-point field goal attempts).<\/p>\n<p>The 6-foot-7 Finney-Smith is the quintessential 3-and-D wing, a multi-positional defender who can also defend centers and forwards. He is hitting 43.5% of his 3-pointers this season, averaging 10.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists.<\/p>\n<p>The 6-foot-8 Hachimura is knocking down a career-high 45.2% of his 3-pointers this season, making 1.6 per game.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Likely Impact of D\u2019Angelo Russell\u2019s Loss<\/h2>\n<p>While the Lakers have addressed some of their concerns this season with the Finney-Smith trade, they will also miss the organizational skills of Russell.<\/p>\n<p>The Lakers will likely need to trade for another reliable playmaker as Russell\u2019s loss would put more burden on Austin Reaves and a 40-year-old LeBron James to organize the team.<\/p>\n<p>Reaves though has shown marked improvement in that department. He\u2019s averaging 7.4 assists in December, with the Lakers winning five of seven games to date.<\/p>\n<p>Reaves had 26 assists over his last two games, including a career-high 16 dimes against the Kings with James out due to illness. But with his increasing time with the ball in his hands, Reaves\u2019 turnover rate has also gone up. He\u2019s averaging 2.4 this season and had a game-high five against the Kings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just thought it was sticking within our system,\u201d\u00a0Reaves told Lakers sideline reporter Mike Trudell. \u201cI had some dumb turnovers. And to be honest, I didn\u2019t play very well in the fourth quarter, but a win\u2019s a win, and that\u2019s all that matters in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka selected Lonzo Ball for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017 NBA draft. Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0legend and former team president Earvin&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Magic Johnson Reacts to Rob Pelinka\u2019s Major Lakers Move.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=15746\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Magic Johnson Reacts to Rob Pelinka\u2019s Major Lakers Move.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka selected Lonzo Ball for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017 NBA draft. 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