There are always tough consequences to having an active transfer market, as the Los Angeles Lakers brought in five players before the deadline and have no choice but to sacrifice someone in their roster to make up some space for them. In this case, the logical solution was rookie Max Christie.
Unfortunately for Los Angeles followers, the 20-year-old is a fan favorite in the city, but as he is still in his first year, it’s understandable he’ll return eventually to the main roster. So this past Tuesday, the Lakers announced that they have assigned Christie to their South Bay roster in the G-League.
Happy 20th Birthday Max Christie! 🎉
Who’s game does Max remind you of? pic.twitter.com/pHSW6qKg04
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) February 11, 2023
Let’s dig into the squad’s current affairs to further understand the move. LeBron James finally returned to action Wednesday after missing three-straight games due to a recurrent foot issue, after he became the all-time best scorer in the NBA last week. Now that he’s back, he mixed with the newcomers to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans last night in spectacular fashion, 120 to 102.
In general terms, the Los Angeles side find themselves with a 27-32 record this campaign, and even though they have shown signs of improvement lately, there is only 22 matches left in regular season to try and qualify for playoffs in a very contested Western Conference.
They new faces in town are D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, and Mo Bamba, which except for the former Timberwolves player who’s set to start, the rest will probably be on regular rotation.
As for Max Christie, his role in the team was always very limited and felt a huge deal fo frustration for him and the fans, as it seemed he would always perform well. The fact that he’s been sent for the G-League just means the team really does see a future with him, just not a present.
After participating in a total of 35 contests during his rookie year, the guard has averaged 3.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in about 14.2 minutes per game. One of his best performances of the season was on January 18th, as he scored 12 points against Sacramento Kings.
Watch the highlights of that night as the former Michigan State Spartan also added 3 rebounds and 2 steals:
Christie sends his condolensces to Michigan State’s latest victims
Just as he turned 20 years old, and the Lakers were suffering a defeat on court against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night, news about another deadly school shooting began spill all around the internet.
A mass shooting occurred Michigan State University’s campus, where Christie had studied just a year before, and three people were killed, while five others survived, but critically wounded.
“Obviously it’s tragic news. My thoughts and prayers with the families and people that were affected,” the Los Angeles player told the press after the game. “I already checked on my guys and I know they’re safe so I’m happy about that, but to the families that were affected my thoughts and prayers are out to them.”
Lakers rookie Max Christie was a freshman last year at Michigan State, so as he said “It definitely hits home,” but then reflected further on the tragedy. “Even though it was at Michigan State, anywhere else it would’ve hit home. But the fact that it was at Michigan State a place that I called home for over a year almost and was there less than a year ago, it definitely hurts a lot. I hope everybody’s safe, but to the families that were affected my thoughts go out to them.”
