Official Announcement! Trade and Signing Completed! Lakers Championship Team in Place, Internet Celebrity Team Does Not Disappoint
Beijing time January 16th news, the league today was born a trade and a signing.
The Lakers officially announced that the team has signed center Trey Jamison with a two-way contract. Jamison is 25 years old and stands at 2 meters 11 centimeters tall. This season, Jamison played 16 games for the Pelicans, averaging 2.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
It can only be said that this "big dummy" slightly increased the thickness of the Lakers' weak interior. As an edge player, Jamison's prospects upon joining the Lakers are not promising, and there is even a possibility that he will not get any playing time. Do not forget that there are more famous centers such as Hayes, Wood, and Colloch in front of him who cannot play. The Lakers' purpose in signing him may simply be to satisfy the mentality of fans who want to strengthen the team, while also giving an explanation to James and Davis. It has already been revealed by the Lakers' team reporter that new coach Redick prefers to let Davis play the center position, and the team does not want to trade for centers like Valanciunas, Kessler, and Lowry. Therefore, it is highly likely that the Lakers will end this season with such a center rotation.
The Suns and Hornets have finalized the first trade of 2025 today. The Suns traded for Richards from the Hornets, sending forward Okogie, and also received a second-round pick, while the Hornets received three future second-round picks.
As we all know, the Suns' main problem is their center position. They pay the highest luxury tax in the league, yet their lineup is very distorted. They have All-Star level guards and forwards, but only Nurkic and Plumlee, two centers who are not up to the task. In the last four games, Nurkic has even been benched.
With Richards, the Suns have added more depth at the center position to strengthen their defense, add some diversity to the frontcourt, and provide an alternative to Nurkic, who has poor defensive abilities. The 27-year-old Richards has spent his entire career with the Charlotte Hornets. In this season's 21 games, he averaged 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks, with a shooting percentage of 56.1%. According to the advanced data on the NBA official website, when he is the primary defender, opponents only shoot 57% within 5 feet of the restricted area, which is much better than Nurkic and Plumlee.
Thus far, the league's three major internet celebrity teams have all completed a trade. The Warriors traded for Schroder, the Lakers traded for Finney-Smith, and the Suns traded for Richard. The internet celebrity teams did not disappoint, actively strengthening themselves one month before the trade deadline. Moreover, considering recent trade rumors, it is highly likely that these three teams will further strengthen themselves before the trade deadline. Especially the Suns, who have almost no competitors in the pursuit of Butler.
In the twilight of the gods era, Durant, Curry, and James are gradually exiting the historical stage, fortunately, their respective teams are unwilling to waste their final peak and are working hard to build championship-winning lineups.