The day Los Angeles Lakers struck a deal ahead of the NBA trade deadline. But it just wasn’t the one everyone had hoped. Instead, the team made a deal that left many people scratching their heads. With possible Anthony Davis trade talks dead until the offseason, the Lakers traded Ivica Zubac to the Los Angeles Clippers. But the return is what opened a few eyes. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the deal, which will send Zubac and Michael Beasley to the Clippers in exchange for Mike Muscala, who was recently acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers. The Clippers are trading Mike Muscala to the Lakers for Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac, league sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 7, 2019 The deal is surprising, considering the level Zubac has played at as of late. He’s by far looked like the Lakers’ best center to this point but it seems the team has opted to free up a roster spot instead moving forward. Lakers Roster & Lineup Post-Trade Position Expected Starter Backup Center JaVale McGee Tyson Chandler Power Forward Kyle Kuzma Mike Muscala Moritz Wagner Small Forward LeBron James Josh Hart Lance Stephenson Shooting Guard Brandon Ingram Reggie Bullock Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Point Guard Rajon Rondo Lonzo Ball (injured) Isaac Bonga After Math of Lakers’ Ivica Zubac Trade The plan moving forward is to tack on one of the players who has been/will be bought out of their deal. And in turn, this could lead to the Lakers making the decision to bring Carmelo Anthony to town, as Wojnarowski revealed. The Lakers plan to evaluate the full buyout market once it takes shape, but Carmelo Anthony is expected to be among the considerations too, league sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 7, 2019 It’s not all that surprising, but there are bound to be a few intriguing targets available on the open market. More than likely, it’s tough to envision the final move not being the addition of Anthony. With LeBron James and Anthony having a close relationship, adding the veteran forward to the group for the homestretch makes sense. One key thing that stands out from the Zubac situation is that he was originally expected to be part of an Anthony Davis trade. He’s going to be a free agent after the year, though, so it seems the Lakers opted to just pick up something in exchange for him as opposed to losing him in the offseason. READ NEXT: Nets Trade Talk: Best Jimmy Butler Offers to Entice Sixers<doc-sep>Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG executives ignored warnings from colleagues about troubled steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta as they channeled $1.2 billion of client funds to his businesses, according to people familiar with the matter.Bankers in Credit Suisse’s commodity trade-finance unit blacklisted Gupta’s Liberty Commodities Ltd. in 2016 because they suspected some of its deals weren’t legitimate, the people said. When they learned about two years later that the bank was lending to his companies through a suite of investment funds, which eventually grew to $10 billion, they flagged their worries to leaders in compliance and the division that housed the loans, one of the people said.The disclosure that Credit Suisse may have put clients at risk despite internal concerns over Gupta’s businesses adds a new twist to the debacle stemming from the March implosion of Greensill Capital, the finance firm at the center of the three-way relationship.Investigations, LawsuitsThe U.K. Serious Fraud Office is now investigating Gupta’s group of companies for suspected fraud, including in its financing deals with Greensill, according to a May 14 statement. Credit Suisse has sued to force Gupta’s Liberty Commodities into insolvency and has since shut the funds that made the loans and launched an internal investigation. Investors are staring at losses as the bank confronts embarrassing lawsuits.“We are currently focusing our efforts on recovering our investors’ money,” Will Bowen, a spokesman for Credit Suisse in London, said in an emailed statement, adding that the bank’s internal probe will focus on “all of the issues” linked to the funds. “We are committed to learning the lessons and will share the relevant lessons learnt at the appropriate time.”Andrew Mitchell, a spokesman for the Gupta Family Group Alliance, or GFG Alliance, a collective of businesses linked to Gupta including Liberty Commodities, denied any wrongdoing.The Greensill saga represents just one of the two disasters that rocked Credit Suisse in the first half of 2021. Since Greensill began unraveling, the bank has announced a $5.5 billion hit from the blowup at Archegos Capital Management.ApologiesFormer Chairman Urs Rohner apologized to shareholders and his successor, Antonio Horta-Osorio, who arrived at the end of April, has promised a sweeping strategy review.Chief Executive Officer Thomas Gottstein, who was head of the division that oversaw trade finance, wasn’t aware of the internal concerns about Gupta that had prompted the bank to cut him off, according to a person familiar with the matter.Employees at the trade-finance unit, which lends money for the buying and selling of commodities, cut ties with Gupta in 2016 after becoming skeptical toward his Liberty Commodities, the people said. They distrusted the documents the company provided, triggering doubts about its transactions, they said. In one example reported by Bloomberg, the company had presented another bank with what seemed to be duplicate shipping receipts. A spokesman for Gupta has denied any wrongdoing.Banking TiesLiberty Commodities pledged assets to Credit Suisse as security for borrowings in 2013 but by early 2016, all such commitments had been extinguished, indicating that the financing relationship had ceased, U.K. Companies House filings show. And while Gupta’s company listed the Swiss bank as one of its lenders in its 2014 annual report, it didn’t in the following year’s report, which is dated May 2016, according to the filings.Their counterparts at other banks, including Macquarie Group Ltd. and Sberbank PJSC, halted trading with Liberty Commodities around the same time because of similar concerns; Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also stopped in 2016, Bloomberg has reported.Nevertheless, executives at Credit Suisse’s asset-management division -- which creates investment products for clients and charges a fee for overseeing them -- began arranging a suite of funds focused on supply-chain finance in 2017. The entities bought securitized loans packaged by Greensill, a firm created by Australian businessman Lex Greensill. Much of the debts were linked to Gupta’s businesses.WarningsOfficials at the commodity trade-finance unit were concerned when they found out about the funds’ links to Gupta and took their fears to Thomas Grotzer, general counsel for the bank’s Swiss division. They also warned Luc Mathys and Lukas Haas, the bankers who helped oversee the trades at the asset-management unit.Grotzer was promoted last month to interim global head of compliance at Credit Suisse. He didn’t respond to requests for comment. Mathys, head of fixed-income at the asset-management division, and Haas, a portfolio manager, were put on temporary leave in March. Neither responded to requests for comment.The bank pushed ahead with the funds and marketed them to investors as being made up of short-term debt secured on invoices, assets considered so safe that Credit Suisse gave the largest vehicle its lowest rating for risk. Yet part of the loans were linked to mere possible future revenues.Other parts of the bank continued working with Gupta as well. Credit Suisse’s investment bankers were due to lead an initial public offering for Liberty’s U.S. steel arm, which was ultimately pulled, according to a statement from the company. Gupta also announced that the Swiss bank would finance his planned acquisition of Thyssenkrupp AG’s steel unit, which fell apart earlier this year.Credit Suisse has so far recouped about $5.9 billion of the $10 billion in these supply-chain funds, but it remains unclear how much will be returned ultimately to investors. Loans to Gupta’s businesses are among a batch of debts that are the “principal sources of valuation uncertainty,” the bank said earlier this month.Liberty Commodities’s external legal advisors investigated “alleged rumors concerning the paperwork” it used in 2019, according to Mitchell, the spokesman for GFG Alliance. They found no evidence to substantiate the rumors, nor was the company “ever subject to further complaints or proceedings,” he said.“LCL has ongoing banking relationships with separate financial institutions,” Mitchell said, referring to Liberty Commodities. “The trade-finance market has been hugely challenging for all but the very largest commodities traders in recent years. Nevertheless, no financial institution has been left out of pocket as a result of lending money to LCL. On the contrary, they have received substantial commercial returns.”More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.<doc-sep>
The Los Angeles Lakers finally made a trade, just not for Anthony Davis. The Lakers added more shooting by acquiring Reggie Bullock in a trade with the Pistons, per ESPN. Los Angeles traded Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and a second-round draft pick for Bullock. The move does little to impact the Lakers making a trade for Davis, but it does give LeBron James another three-point shooter to help him on the perimeter. Bullock is shooting 38.8 percent from behind the three-point line this season and is likely to come off the bench for the Lakers. Here’s a look at the Lakers updated roster with Bullock now in the mix. Lakers Roster & Starting Lineup After Reggie Bullock Trade C- Ivica Zubac, JaVale McGee, Tyson Chandler PF- Kyle Kuzma, Michael Beasley, Johnathan Williams, Moritz Wagner SF- LeBron James, Reggie Bullock, Lance Stephenson SG- Brandon Ingram, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Josh Hart, Isaac Bonga PG- Rajon Rondo, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso The Reggie Bullock Trade Has Little to Do With Anthony Davis Depending on who you ask, the Lakers have either walked away from the negotiation table with the Pelicans or are awaiting New Orleans next move. What is clear is that the Bullock deal will have little impact on the Lakers acquiring Davis. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Lakers made a major offer and are awaiting the Pelicans to counteroffer. What could complicate a potential Lakers-Pelicans deal is the Celtics. Boston cannot trade for Davis because of the “Rose Rule”, but the Celtics could be interested in making a move for Davis this summer. The Athletic reported Jayson Tatum has been mentioned in a potential deal. This latest Lakers-Celtics subplot would be dead by now if Ainge had been scared off, but sources say Boston — which can’t trade for Davis until this summer because of the well-chronicled “Rose Rule” — is continuing its complicated pursuit of the five-time All-Star in spite of the message being sent through various channels that he doesn’t want to play there. A source with knowledge of the talks said the potential centerpiece in a Pelicans package, 20-year-old Celtics small forward Jayson Tatum, has been discussed extensively by the two teams and is expected to be a major part of the talks when June rolls around. Trade Rumors Continue to Be a Major Distraction in Lakers Locker Room While the rumors continue to swirl around the Lakers, the trade talks appear to be having a negative impact on the team. The Lakers lost by 42 points to the Pacers, and it is hard to believe the trade rumors have not impacted L.A.’s play on the court. The Pacers crowd chanted “LeBron’s gonna trade you” at Brandon Ingram during the game. Brandon Ingram steps to line as “LeBron’s gonna trade you” chants rain upon him pic.twitter.com/aiG4NCy3Ex — Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) February 6, 2019 “I know it has to be tough on a lot of our guys, especially our young guys,” James told ESPN. “Right now, they’ve just never been a part of it and they’re hearing it every single day — and I know that the worst thing that you can do right now is be on social media. And I know all young guys love social media. So, that definitely can’t help.”