Pleasantly surprised with what the Lakers were able to get. Gives them some nice pieces for next year - either for the Lakers or as traceable salaries. Russ’s expiring deal was going to do nothing for them next year and they’d still be over the cap if/when he walked.
I don't see it as a good trade in the slightest.
Certainly getting rid of Westbrook is helpful. But that's only one factor.
DLo is a zero defender. He's also a low BBIQ player. He doesn't make players around him better. Can he space the floor? Yes, but he's not that great moving off the ball. Which he is going to have to do to play with LBJ. DLo is more effective with the ball in his hands, but he doesn't offer the efficiency to justify that. He's a guy who gives you high counting stats, empty ones, on a very bad team going nowhere. He's that kind of player.
Beasley can space the floor. His shot selection keeps shifting from good to bad to confusing at times. He's also not going to give you the kind of plus defense this team needs. He's also got that streaky dumb player vibe to him.
Vanderbilt can give them some tough defense. But no floor spacing. Which negates his overall value since Davis and LBJ are already a questionable fit together. LBJ needs to play point center at this point in his career. He has no desire and gives no effort to defend on the wing.
You can't keep trading away all your draft picks. That's not how you build a sustainable team. The Lakers burned a 1st rounder to get RWB, then burned another to get rid of him.
The reason Ainge struggled to move Vanderbilt and Beasley earlier and individually raises the same issues I've just brought up. They were still available for a reason.
Young Patrick Beverley was almost a member of the Miami Heat when it had LBJ. Why was he cut? Because LBJ demanded that a washed up zero like Juwan Howard make the roster.
That's the LBJ MO here. Force the franchise to trade draft picks for overpaid ill fitting parts.