Everyone in the NBA community believes that the Los Angeles Lakers have hit a home run out of the park in terms of moving players. They have successfully traded away the point guards lurking around the team with many controversies. Russell Westbrook found a way out along with Patrick Beverley, who the fans wanted out for a long time. However, the Lakers were willing to make one more change that could have completed their transformation. Reports in the market suggest that there was another reunion apart from D’Angelo Russell.
The Lakers fans showed great excitement when they heard about the return of Stanley Johnson. Apparently, the small forward got waived off from the San Antonio Spurs, which opened the opportunity for his return. After making all the desired addition to the team, Johnson would have made the team a title contender this year. However, there is some rule in the NBA that could restrict the reunion and disappoint the Lakers fans. If Stanley had landed in LA, he would have raised the pathetic bar of the team’s shooting.
Los Angeles Lakers Held By NBA Rule
LA has been terrible shooters even before the season began, where they put up pathetic off-season performances. The distance shooting has been one of the primary reasons for their downfall in the league this year. The roster management that the general manager Rob Pelinka did was terrible at shooting from a distance.
Stats also display that the Lakers are one of the worst teams, ranked 29th among the 30 teams in terms of shooting. Hollywood also lacked players in the exact position, which made Ham adapt to the situation making players adapt to different roles. And now, when LA had the chance to improve their shooting, they were denied by some rules that would not allow them to do so.
Per a literal reading of the rule, no. But I don't think they had this sort of intentionality in mind when they wrote the rule, i.e., that they considered all the permutations of what could happen after the trade to inform how they crafted the language. Worth a call to check. https://t.co/ch54xAumPb
— Larry Coon (@LarryCoon) February 12, 2023
The rule states that if Utah Jazz had traded Jhonson to the Spurs, then the LA could have stood a chance. However, the Lakers are the last team to trade him off, and they could not get him back in the span of one season. Even to many experts, the language of the details is blurry, and the deal could shine a light on the subject. So Rob Pelinka and his team will raise the question of whether the transaction could happen. However, the likeliness of trade happening is quite low, looking at the current situation.