Why They Do It

LAL: The Lakers have had an underwhelming offseason. They missed out on Klay Thompson and every other free agent they had interest in. Something needs to change to give LeBron James one last opportunity at a championship. This very well could be his final season. The return of Brandon Ingram is one of the final moves they could make that will elevate this team's ceiling. The former All Star is coming off a frustrating year in New Orleans and is entering the final year of his contract but a return to Los Angeles could be the spark his own career needs to get back to the levels we saw during his first two years in NOLA. The Lakers were limited offensively with Austin Reaves as their 3rd option, adding Ingram as one of their top 3 scoring options should lead to immediate positive changes on that side of the ball. Not only is he a talented scorer but he's an underrated playmaker, he's an automatic 5.5 assists per game. Ingram gives them security long term when LeBron calls it a career (as long as he resigns) and gives them 3 guys with enough gravity to open up their shooters and each other for easier baskets. This would also open up roster spots to sign vet minimum guys, Pat Bev and/or Luke Kennard are options. It's a hefty price to pay and the contract situation is a worry, but the Lakers need to make a move and give LeBron one last chance to win a championship.

GSW: Similar to LA, the Warriors need to maximize the final years of their superstar, Steph Curry. After losing Klay Thompson, they need a secondary scorer and I believe there isn't a better fit in the league for former Most Improved Player, Lauri Markkanen. The Finnish star led the league in catch and shoot scoring and catch and shoot 3's and that is on a bad Utah Jazz team with no other stars to take attention away from him. Him and Curry as a duo is a terrifying prospect for opposing defenses. The trio of Curry, Markkanen and Hield would arguably be the best collection of 3-point shooters since the KD Warriors. There's no better replacement for Klay Thompson than Markkanen. Lauri is coming into the final year of his deal but I can't see him wanting to go anywhere else with the shots that Curry's gravity is gonna create for him. He also allows the Warriors to play smaller with Draymond at the 5. Not having to give up Kuminga or Podzi is also a huge win for them in this deal. The picks are a necessary sacrifice to put Steph Curry in position to make one last title push.

UTA: This is probably the best return for Markkanen they could possibly receive. This trade not only gives them the biggest war chest of picks in the league (maybe 2nd to OKC, not 100% sure) and also gives them flexibility. They still get 2 starters out of this deal in D'Angelo Russell and Andrew Wiggins. And to top it off, they add a promising wing in Moses Moody. Wiggins is the only player locked into a long-term deal so it will be easy to flip Russell and/or Moody if they decide to go in that direction. They get a 1st round pick for Jordan Clarkson as well who is better off where he's going (more on that in the next paragraph). This trade not only further secures their super promising future but still allows them to stay competitive in a tough Western conference and potentially compete for a play-in spot if everything goes right. Maybe that's a bit of wishful thinking but I love the mix of vets and young players on this roster after the trade. Danny Ainge sets his team up for a very promising future.

NOP: The Pelicans need to move on from Ingram after a disappointing season and his fit with the team in question. After trading for Dejounte Murray earlier in the offseason and Herb Jones being more than ready as a replacement, the Pels can afford to not go star chasing and instead solidify their bench and give it some scoring punch. Jordan Clarkson and Rui Hachimura give them some real firepower off the bench, both can space the floor and have their own strengths that can be huge for this team. Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado and Yves Missi make up the rest of what I believe is the best bench in basketball (top 3 minimum). The big problem is there is still no starting caliber center on the roster, but I don't believe there is a big on the market that can fit next to Zion Williamson. However, they still have bench pieces and a ton of picks to use later in the season to attract a big if needed. I firmly believe this trade makes them one of the favourites to come out of the West and will allow us to truly see if Zion can be the leader of this franchise. There are no more excuses with a roster as talented as this, it's time for New Orleans to go all in.

Final Statement

I believe all the teams that need to get better in this deal, do get better. The Lakers are probably the team with the most question marks after this deal, but I believe if there's an opportunity to bring in a guy as talented as Ingram, they need to do it. It's an easy move for the other 3 teams and all of them come out of this being exactly where the want to be. Overall, I think this is very fair for all 4 teams.

10-Man Rotations

Lakers

PG A. Reaves / G. Vincent

SG D. Knecht / M. Christie

SF B. Ingram / C. Reddish

PF L. James / J. Vanderbilt

C A. Davis / C. Wood

Warriors

PG S. Curry / D. Melton

SG B.Podziemski / G. Payton II

SF J. Kuminga / B. Hield

PF L. Markkanen / K. Anderson

C D. Green / T. Jackson-Davis

Jazz

PG D. Russell / K. George

SG C. Sexton / M. Moody

SF A. Wiggins / C. Williams

PF J. Collins / T. Hendricks

C W. Kessler / D. Eubanks

Pelicans

PG D. Murray / J. Alvarado

SG C. McCollum / J. Clarkson

SF H. Jones / T. Murphy III

PF Z. Williamson / R. Hachimura

C D. Theis / Y. Missi

What do you think? Let me know below!