Recently retired NBA superstar Dwyane Wade knows who’s winning this NBA off-season, and it isn’t his former running buddy in Miami LeBron James. James was triumphant about the news that the Los Angeles Lakers acquired disgruntled superstar big man Anthony Davis in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. The news cycle, spinning faster and faster, immediately portrayed a new dynamic duo that changed the Western Conference landscape — and many saw the ascension of the Lakers not just back to the playoffs but to the title…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BywVc1ygDGp/
Then there was the other side of the trade, orchestrated on the New Orleans side by genius GM David Griffin. Already set to pick Zion Williamson with the #1 pick in the 2019 draft, Griffin pilfered plenty of young talent (Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram) from the Lakers in the Davis deal, not to mention a handful of draft picks he proceeded to play like Phil Ivey in Vegas.
So who won the Pelicans/Laker trade? Wade seems to think it’s not the Lakers, as per his cheering tweet about Griffin’s performance.
David Griffin is back! He should have never been out but way to come back.
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) June 20, 2019
Wade has an awful lot of company in his Griffin praise (see below), but as a LeBron James superfriend, his opinion really resonates. Of course, not every trade is a win/loss situation. Trades are notoriously hard to measure, especially trades with so many moving parts. Only time will tell. Could be a win/win — for both LA and New Orleans.
David Griffin has been a magician for the New Orleans Pelicans so far. It’s like watching an artist at work. https://t.co/JjoEVkVTst
— Ryan Reynolds (@RPRTalks) June 20, 2019
It’s weird to see an NBA executive win the offseason before the draft or free agency even begins, but David Griffin is absolutely crushing it.
— David MacKay (@DavidMacKayNBA) June 20, 2019
