Who won the trade?

[tlance]

Isn't it funny how before the trade deadline a package of Ingram, Lonzo, Kuzma, Hart, Zubac, Rondo and two 1st rounders wasn't enough to trade for AD?

Ingram and Ball were always injured and busts, Kuzma had already hit his ceiling and Hart was a joke.

Now all of a sudden the Lakers overpaid?

GTFOH

1st off, the Lakers did not overpay.

But, A lot of things changed since then.

-1 of those first rounders hit #4 and exponentially increased its value.
-KD's injury effectively took the Knicks out of the running
-Boston's Kyrie drama + AD declarations took them out of the running
-Those pick swaps are a gamble. They could be worth nothing, or they could be more valuable than any other asset in this deal.

Lakers current offer with #4 and pick swaps is stronger than the offer they made at the deadline. And all of their main competitors lost incentive to go all in for AD.