On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers officially announced that they had completed a trade to acquire center Roy Hibbert from the Indiana Pacers. In exchange for the 7-foot 2-inch center, the Lakers gave up a second round draft pick to be named in the future.
Per Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak on a conference call with NBCLA.com, Hibbert waived a portion of his trade kicker in order to make the deal work. In addition, the Lakers also completed the signings of guard Lou Williams, forward Brandon Bass and second-round pick Anthony Brown on Thursday, but Hibbert's capture via trade served as the front page news of the day. Worth noting, the Lakers managed to sign Bass using only salary cap space, which means the Lakers preserved a $2.8 million room exception that can be used to add an additional player.
While Hibbert's signing served as a massive recovery to a slow start to the summer, the Lakers missed out on the top free agents in the market for the second straight season. When asked about the team failing to lure quality talent via the open market, Kupchak admitted that the Lakers' original plan had not worked due to several factors that included a young roster and losing seasons. Namely, the team struck out with front court targets Greg Monroe, LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan.
"It's a very, very competitive market," Kupchak said. "It's unrealistic to think in this day in age that every time you go into the free agent market you're going to get exactly who you target."
While on the topic of Jordan, Kupchak did admit that Jordan's unorthodox decision to return to the LA Clippers at the last moment "set an uncomfortable precedent" and was "a little bit unsettling."
A great deal of the unsettled emotion came from the fact that the Dallas Mavericks suddenly had salary cap space and the need for a big center, which sparked rumors that the Mavs could break the Lakers' deal with Hibbert and set forth a chain reaction. However, that did not happen, and the Lakers got their center.
"It's not a perfect roster, but I like the balance of the roster," Kupchak said while describing the young talents and the established veterans. "Getting a rim protector, a force in the paint, is something we have not had. I think (Hibbert) will be challenged to have a really good year going into a free agent year. More particularly, I think he feels that the last year and a half in Indiana did not go as well as he would have liked, and he wants to get back to playing at a very, very high level and make the All-Star team."
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
Nick Young had been rumored to be on the trading block and possibly also involved in the Hibbert trade. However, when the trade became official, "Swaggy P" still remained in LA. Asked about Young, Kupchak said still envisioned Young being a "core player," but the pure scorer had to convince the coaching staff that he could play within the system, especially on the defensive side of the ball. With Williams known as a consistent scorer off the bench, Young needs to expand his game to remain relevant.
"It's a little early, but I would say 'yes.'" Kupchak responded when asked if this team had the potential to make the playoffs, which the Lakers have never missed out on three seasons in a row. "I don't see why we don't contend for a playoffs spot, but our young players have to grow beyond their years and we have to stay healthy."
