Magic Johnson has pulled the trigger on his first trade — and it’s a solid one for the team that will give them another first-round pick.
It may be a better one for a Rockets’ team looking to make a deep playoff run.
The Lakers are sending Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets and getting back what they really want in a pick, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
The Lakers are finalizing a trade to send guard Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 22, 2017
The Rockets are sending Corey Brewer and a first-round pick to the Lakers for Lou Williams, league source tells @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 22, 2017
Lou Williams seemed to confirm this on Twitter.
Thanx for the love L.A, I've enjoyed my stay.
— Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) February 22, 2017
We don’t know what year that first-round pick is, most likely 2017 but we don’t know for sure yet.
Williams became a sought-after trade commodity because the guy who used to be a volume scorer still gets plenty of points but now does it efficiently. He leads the Lakers scoring 18.6 points per game, with a very good true-shooting percentage of 60.9, in part because he gets to the line a lot more. He’s doing all that in just 24.2 minutes a night off the bench, which is why he’s a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.
For the Rockets, they now bring the scoring punch of Williams and Eric Gordon — probably the frontrunner for Sixth Man of the Year — off the bench. That will relieve some scoring pressure, and maybe reduce the minutes load, for James Harden.
Williams should blend almost seamlessly into the Mike D’Antoni offense. The only concern for the Rockets is potential playoff matchups where Williams can be exploited defensively, but that team is going to play fast and put up points.
For the Lakers, they get a first-round pick, although if it is a 2017 it will be about pick 27. Corey Brewer makes the salaries match up but he is a below replacement-level player at this point, don’t be shocked if the Lakers try to move him next summer. My only question with the Lakers is could they have gotten a higher first rounder from another team, but this seems a fair deal for Sweet Lou.