Back at the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers made one of the more head-scratching trades you'll ever see, as they dealt talented young center Ivica Zubac and Michael Beasley to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for wingman Mike Muscala.
Former Lakers' star and current Clippers' executive Jerry West fleeced his former team in the trade, and he was literally laughing at the Lakers because of their questionable decision to deal Zubac.
Jerry West and other former Lakers employees are literally laughing at Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka for handing Ivica Zubac to the Clippers. https://t.co/DEjAIZ043q pic.twitter.com/2eQ7AZbNR6
— Silver Screen & Roll (@LakersSBN) March 29, 2019
Not only did the Lakers trade a center with the potential to start in the future, but Muscala hasn't done anything since becoming a Laker, shooting 31.3 percent from the field and 20.8 percent from behind the arc. Zubac, still 22-years-old, has been great since moving across the city.
ESPN's Dave McMenamin wrote a story about the first year of the LeBron James era in LA, and he has sources that said West -- who spent more than 40 years with the organization -- went to dinner with old friends with ties to the Lakers and laughed at the whole trade, as Zubac just fell in their lap.
New story: The lost year of LeBron and the Lakers - an inside look at what went wrong in LeBron's first season in L.A. (many thanks to @andrewthehan & @cristinadaglas for their editorial touch on this one) https://t.co/WXT6HMkIPa
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 29, 2019
It's bad enough that the Lakers just gave away a talent like Zubac, but to trade him your inner-city rivals is dumbfounding. People were already being critical and laughing at the Lakers for this move, so it's justified that Clippers consultant Jerry West would do the same.