I actually really like this trade for all sides. Maybe it’s too much for the Lakers to give up, maybe it’s not enough for the Magic to get back. I lay out why I like it for both teams below.

Magic: Isaac starts at the 5. Goga and Mo back him up and they play occasional small-ball minutes with Paolo at the 5. They get a great future asset in a very lightly protected Lakers 2029 pick. They also get JHS, a distressed asset - recent mid-first round pick who doesn’t fit the Lakers timeline or scheme at all but actually would fit the Magic quite well as a pull up shooting PG. Despite his unreadiness to play NBA minutes for a team striving to win it all, he had a great G league season putting up 22/5/5 on 47/43/80 shooting splits. Additionally, they get Shamet, a playable off-guard/wing who can fill in for injuries and shoot well enough to fit with the core. They are able to use him as salary alongside draft capital in a midseason trade or decline his team option at the end of the year, clearing more space for the upcoming Franz, Suggs, and Isaac extensions.

The Lakers do this to add a win-now piece in WCJ. He’s one of the best available centers on the trade market and on a great contract while being a solid starting caliber player with versatility. He can even shoot the 3 and maybe play alongside AD to get their parts players on the floor to close games. They only give up salary filler in Vincent and the first, while not hard capping themselves by taking in more salary than they can give out. Another version of this trade would swap JHS for Wood or Hayes, but I like this version most.

The Wizards join in on the fun to take on a bad contract and get a couple draft picks out of it. They swap Shamet for Vincent, receiving an extra $12M of guaranteed money in 2025-26. In doing so, they also get a reclamation project in Caleb Houston and two 2nd round draft picks to add to the stockpile.