Image by Getty Images via @daylifeI was surprised by the initial surprise that greeted the Lakers' willingness to participate in the three-way trade that landed Terrence Williams in Houston and armed New Jersey with two more future first-round picks for its trade pursuit of Carmelo Anthony. The champs, frankly, had lots of good reasons for joining in.
The top three?
1. Joe Smith is a veteran big man who -- unlike the outgoing Sasha Vujacic -- has generally been revered by teammates, even though he's never produced at the level expected when Golden State made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 draft. Lakers coach Phil Jackson has been openly fretful about the early-season load Pau Gasol has been shouldering with Andrew Bynum (knee) sidelined until this week and with Theo Ratliff (knee) out. Add it up and L.A. has a clear need for someone like Smith, who as a bonus can probably tell them more about the Celtics' Kevin Garnett (his close friend from their 'Sota days) than just about anyone.
2. With a salary-cap number of $854,389, Smith costs $4.6 million less than Vujacic in payroll terms this season. That means his arrival reduces the Lakers' luxury-tax bill by that same $4.6 million.
3. The parameters of the three-team swap also created a $5.5 million trade exception for the Lakers, which they aren't likely to use between now and the Feb. 24 trade deadline but is sure nice to have if circumstances change and a roster need arises. (We'll have to see how valuable such trade exceptions are -- or if they even exist -- in the next labor agreement.)
http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-101217-19/latest-melo-drama
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