What if Magic and Isiah swapped places on each other's teams.

[coastalmarker99]

if Magic had been traded? A possibility would be for Magic to go to his hometown team, the Pistons. In return, the Pistons could have traded the no. 1 draft pick (which became Isiah) or Isiah himself to the Lakers.

What would the Lakers and the Pistons have looked like?


Magic & Isiah both could play PG, an easy switch.

However, Magic is regarded as the better player, which is corroborated by stats.

So what I'll do is exchange the players and their Win Shares. This will increase Pistons wins and decrease Laker wins--except for 1983.


Lakers:

Year W LAL w/ IT
1982 57 46
1983 58 53
1984 54 53
1985 62 61
1986 62 59
1987 65 57
1988 62 59
1989 57 48
1990 63 53
1991 58 46
1992 43 ?
1993 39 ?
1994 33 ?



1982 Lakers

Rookie Isiah was 11 games worse than Magic. So Lakers win only 46, not 57. W/ Magic, Lakers swept first two series, 8-0 total. Maybe they go 8-1, 8-2, or 8-3 with Isiah instead. Even so,they would still easily make the Finals.



In the 1982 Finals, Lakers won 4-2 w/ Magic but it was close. Magic played pretty well: 16, 11, 8. But 1982 was a real Laker team effort w/ 5 players scoring above 13.3

I suspect Lakers win 1982 championship even w/ Isiah, by 4-3. Possible it could have gone the other way, tho.



1983 Lakers

Lakers win 53 (not 58) w/ Isiah. W/ Magic Lakers went 8-3 in two West playoffs series. So they probably would have gone 8-4 or 8-5 w/Isiah, and still win West

But in the Finals, Lakers are still no match for 76ers (who, in reality, beat Lakers 4-0 w/ Magic).


1984 Lakers

Isiah's close to Magic in WS (-1), so not much changes. Lakers win West.

In real Finals, Celtics won 4-3 & Magic made mistakes. It's tempting to think Isiah might have done better.

But Magic played well: 18, 8, 14, .560 FG. So Lakers likely lose w/ Isiah, too.

1985 Lakers

Isiah's best yr & close in WS (-2). With Magic, Lakers went 11-3 in West POs; probably do the same or 11-4 w/ Isiah

Lakers won Finals 4-2, w/ Magic getting 18, 7, 14. Isiah went 24, 5, 11 in real 1985 POs.

So Lakers win w/ Isiah, but maybe by 4-3. Isiah's 2nd ring.

1986 Lakers

Isiah close in WS (-3), so not much changes in regular season.

With Magic, 1986 Lakers went 7-2 in first two PO series.

But Lakers lost handily, 4-1 to Rockers in WCF. But Magic played well: 22, 8, 16 (!). So Lakers likely lose w/ Isiah, too.

[coastalmarker99]

Pistons how their regular win totals change with Magic

Year Magic w/DET
1982 39 50
1983 37 42
1984 49 50
1985 46 48
1986 46 49
1987 52 60
1988 54 57
1989 63 72
1990 59 69
1991 50 62


1982-86 Pistons

Pistons would have been pretty similar w/ Magic:

1982: Pistons would have made POs.
1983: Miss POs.
1984: Isiah plays well (21, 4, 11) in 3-2 PO loss.
1985: Isiah plays well (26, 6, 11) in 4-2 loss to Celtics.
1986: Isiah plays well (27, 6, 12) in 3-1 PO loss.



1987 Pistons

W/ Magic, Piston won 60 (+8).

In ECF, Pistons w/ Isiah lost 4-3 to Celtics. They lost game 5 by 1 point: the famous "Bird stole the ball" from Isiah. Pistons also lost game 7 by 3 points. Pistons win either game & win the series. W/ Magic, Pistons do beat Celtics.

1987 Lakers

Isiah -8 in WS, but Lakers still win 57.

W/ Magic, 1987 Lakers went 11-1 West's POs. So Lakers would win those w/ Isiah, too (maybe by 11-2 or 11-3).

In real 1987 Finals, Lakers easily beat Celtics in 6 games. But Isiah's Lakers would instead face Magic's Pistons.


1987 Finals:

The real 1987 Lakers w/ Magic were much better than real 1987 Pistons w/ Isiah.

But with Magic & Isiah swapped, Pistons would have home-court advantage (60 W to 57 W).

It would be a close series, but Magic's Pistons would win, probably by 4-3. Magic's 2nd ring.

1988 Pistons

With Magic, Pistons win 57 (+3).

Real 1988 Pistons went 11-5 in East POs. In ECF, Isiah played well (23, 5, 8) in win vs. Celtics. But Magic would have matched his numbers, so no change. Pistons win East with Magic, too.


1988 Lakers

With Isiah, Lakers win 59 (-3).

Real 1988 Lakers won 1st PO series 3-0. But then they had two 4-3 series wins. Do Lakers win these series w/ Isiah? Magic played just ok Utah series, so Isiah would match him. Magic played better vs. Dallas, but Isiah would match him


1988 Finals

Real 1988 Finals pitted Magic's Lakers vs. Isiah's Pistons. It was a very close series won by Lakers. But Pistons outplayed Lakers overall. Magic played very well: 21, 6, 13 w/ 24.4 Game Score. Isiah 20, 4, 9, & 16.6 Game Score.

So Magic's Pistons win his 3rd ring.


1989 Pistons

With Magic, Pistons win then-record 72 (+9)!

Real 1989 Pistons breezed through East, 11-2. Isiah played just okay in POs, so Pistons w/ Magic probably would have been 11-1


1989 Lakers

With Isiah, Lakers win only 48 (-9), dropping from 1st seed (w/ Magic) to 4th seed (w/ Isiah).

Real 1989 Lakers went 11-0 in West POs & won mostly blowout. Magic was great, so Isiah would not have matched him. But Lakers still win West w/ 11-1, 11-2, or 11-3 record.

1989 Finals

In real 1989 Finals, Magic & Byron Scott got hurt, and Pistons swept 4-0. But Pistons were better team and would have won w/o Laker injuries.

If Magic doesn't get injured, Magic's Pistons win his 4th ring (3rd in a row).

[coastalmarker99]

1990 Pistons

With Magic, Pistons win then-record 69 (+10)!

Real 1990 Pistons won 1st two POs, 7-1. They had tough 4-3 ECF over Bulls. Isiah played ok: 18, 6, 9, 16.2 GS. Magic would have matched.

Pistons won Finals 4-1. Isiah played well, but Pistons win w/ Magic, too: 5 rings


1990 Lakers

With Isiah, Lakers win 53 (-10).

Real 1990 Lakers lost 4-1 in 2nd round of PO. In that series, Magic played great (30, 6, 12, 26.7 GS). So Lakers would not have won with Isiah, either.




1991 Pistons

W/ Magic, Pistons win 62 (+12).

Real 1991 Pistons won 1st two PO series. But they lost 4-0 to Bulls.

W/ Magic, Pistons would have home court. Isiah was mediocre, and Magic would have far exceeded. But real Pistons lost by average of 11.5/G: Too much to make up.


1991 Lakers

With Isiah, Lakers win 46 (-12), dropping from 2nd seed (w/ Magic) to 7th seed (w/ Isiah).

Real 1991 Lakers played well in West POs; Magic played great. With Isiah and as 7th seed, I'm not sure Lakers make it out of the West.

(Real 1991 Lakers lost to Bulls, 4-1).



After 1991, Magic retired. Isiah retired in 1994.

If they had swapped teams, Magic would have won 5 rings (same as he actually did):
1980 (w/ Lakers)
1987
1988
1989
1990

Isiah would have won 2 rings (same as he actually did):
1982
1985

[Axe]

Magic playing for his hometown team should have been an interesting one

[LukeWalton]

doesn't matter, they'd still kiss each other during the game