Los Angeles Acquired a Guard With More Development Time
The Lakers obtained Tyler Ennis and the draft rights to Australian wing Brad Newley from Houston on February 23, 2017, sending Marcelo Huertas to the Rockets. Los Angeles's official release and the league's deadline tracker list both incoming assets. Ennis had appeared in 31 Rockets games earlier in the season but hadn't secured a regular role behind the main scorers. The Lakers had just reshuffled their basketball leadership, giving the organization reason to evaluate another young point guard. Newley's rights offered a theoretical additional option, although he was continuing a successful international career.
Ennis Immediately Played Twenty-Two Lakers Games
Ennis took advantage of the Los Angeles opening and appeared in 22 regular-season games to close 2016-17, starting twice. He averaged 7.7 points and 2.4 assists while totaling 392 minutes for his new club. Those games were enough to persuade the Lakers to re-sign him in July, according to an official NBA announcement. That extension is important because the February acquisition was not simply a brief roster shuffle. Ennis was a real point-guard option rather than an unused expiring contract, and his 31 earlier Rockets games should not be included in his Lakers return.
Another Fifty-Four Games Followed Before Ennis Left
Ennis returned for 2017-18 and played 54 more Los Angeles regular-season games, including eleven starts and 683 minutes. His scoring average decreased to 4.1 points in a shorter nightly role, but he remained available behind other young guards. Across both receiving-team seasons, the original trade yielded 76 Lakers games and 1,075 minutes. Brad Newley continued playing overseas and never joined an NBA Lakers rotation, so his rights shouldn't be credited with extra league statistics. Ennis was the meaningful on-court asset Los Angeles acquired.
Houston's Incoming Player Didn't Make a Regular-Season Contribution
Huertas had provided veteran point-guard play to the Lakers earlier in his NBA career, appearing in 76 games across the preceding season. That work belonged to Los Angeles before the deal. After Houston acquired him, the Rockets did not use Huertas in a regular-season game and moved on from the contract. The difference between an unused incoming guard and two partial seasons of Ennis is enough to justify a decisive Lakers win. The original Lakers grade of D treated a legitimate 76-game return too harshly, while Houston's poor basketball return remained a minor reserve acquisition rather than a major franchise error.
Final Verdict
Lakers Win. Los Angeles earns B because Tyler Ennis played 76 regular-season games and 1,075 minutes across two seasons after the deal; Brad Newley's international rights never produced NBA appearances. Houston receives D+ because Marcelo Huertas played no Rockets regular-season games. The Lakers found a useful reserve while Houston's player return went unused.