EL SEGUNDO HERALD February 15, 2018 Page 5
Student Athletes Sign
Letters of Intent
By Gregg McMullin
Four very special El Segundo High School
seniors will continue their education in the
fall. These students aren’t special because
they are going forward to college for higher
education. No, they’ll join hundreds of other
El Segundo seniors who’ll continue the next
step in their yearning for higher education
but with one added element. These students
happen to be athletes too and will be playing
a sport in college. These last four years
are a culmination of hard work in both the
classroom and on the field of play and it has
Four ESHS student athletes sign their letters of intent. From left Madison Fisk (crew), Dar Sayson (football), Monique Benjamin (softball)
and Maddie Kurke (volleyball).
paid off in the form of a scholarship.
National Signing Day is the first day that
a high school senior can sign a binding
national letter of intent for college. To be a
student athlete in high school is one thing.
To continue that drive, ambition and passion
to play a sport at the collegiate level while
concentrating on a potential degree is not
reserved for everyone. These four special
students will pursue degrees in Finance,
Biology, Computer Science and Biomedical
Science.
Monique Benjamin, Madison (Maddie)
Kurke, Madison Fisk and Dariush (Dar)
Sayson have displayed their athleticism on
the field of play. They gave their all and
stood out in their respective sport. Their
focus beyond their sport also stood out in
the classroom, and colleges from the East
Coast to the West Coast beckoned them.
Sitting in a room with these student athletes,
you have to marvel about their poise,
articulate demeanor and how they have grown
into young adults. To think that a mere four
years ago, they were scared freshmen. In
June they will walk up proudly for their high
school degree. During their strut towards the
superintendent to pick up their diplomas,
they will each display a wide grin with the
knowledge that they’ll have an opportunity
to make our world a little better.
These athletes joined school faculty members,
the athletic director, family and friends
in the high school hall of fame to sign their
letters of intent. The photos that adorn the
wall in the hall of fame depict former student
athletes as well as those who have gone on to
make our world a little better. One day, one
or maybe all four of these student athletes
could be inducted as well.
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Lakers Muster Magic
at Trade Deadline
By Adam Serrao
Just when it looked as if the NBA would
have another somewhat quiet day at the trade
deadline, an overflow of news poured out across
the wire last Thursday. That morning, the Los
Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers
wasted no time in making improvements to
their respective rosters. At approximately 9
a.m., the basketball world was bludgeoned
with a series of trades -- one of which involved
L.A. A blockbuster deal sent reverberating
ripples across the league when Isaiah Thomas
was traded to the Lakers and Jordan Clarkson
along with Larry Nance, Jr. were both whisked
away to the Cavs. With that trade alone, Magic
Johnson and Los Angeles hit a grand slam
home run and accomplished exactly what
they needed to get done in order to begin to
piece the Lakers back together once again.
Perhaps the biggest thing to understand
about the trade that the Lakers made with
the Cavaliers last week is that for L.A., it
has absolutely nothing to do with this season.
Both Thomas and Channing Frye – whom the
Lakers also received in the trade – will come
off of the books next year. Since Los Angeles
is heavily rumored to be in the LeBron James
sweepstakes, you can almost certainly bank
on the fact that Thomas won’t be back in
the purple and gold next season after quickly
failing to synchronize with James before he
was swiftly shown the door.
For Magic and the Lakers, the key heading
into next year’s offseason and free agency
period was to cling to the team’s young talent
all while avoiding financial hardship in
the pursuit of LeBron and other top-ranked
free agents like Paul George, for instance.
While Clarkson and Nance could be classified
as young talent, the core group of Brandon
Ingram, Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma and Josh
Hart were all kept in place. Clarkson may have
provided instant offense for the team, but his
contract (two years, $26.9 million) was one
of the biggest on the roster, aside from the
atrocity that is Luol Deng’s multi-year deal.
Magic and General Manager Rob Pelinka
didn’t just move Clarkson and his contract,
but they also surprisingly received a first
round pick from Cleveland as well -- which
was huge for a Lakers team that was devoid
of a pick in this year’s first round because
of a previously made trade for Steve Nash.
Now the Lakers won’t only be out from
under the Clarkson contract, but they will
clear as much as $70 million in cap space
once the contracts of Thomas, Frye, Brook
Lopez and Kentavious Cladwell-Pope expire
at year’s end. That’s enough money to make
Magic smile and also enough for two max
contracts. “I wouldn’t have made the move
if I wasn’t confident,” Magic explained at the
team’s press conference following the trade.
“We have got to take the next step. I like our
core. I want to have us be in the playoffs, and
the only path to that is to add to the roster
that we already have.”
Acquiring either James and/or George isn’t
necessarily a lock. The Lakers have shown the
tendency to strike out in free agency in recent
years and could indeed do so again. LeBron
James isn’t necessarily what’s important
about having all of that cap space, either. As
Pelinka puts it, the flexibility that $70 million
brings the team is what really matters the
most. “There’s so many different ways you
can use that [cap space],” Pelinka explained.
“And then, of course, the obvious way is we
now have in July of 2018 and July of 2019,
we now have real 100 percent space to do
two max players if that’s what we decide to
do, or one in 2018 and then following it up
with another one in 2019. So the flexibility
is really amazing.”
While Isaiah Thomas may be a big name
in the league today, he was perhaps the least
important piece that the Lakers acquired in
their trade with the Cavaliers. What’s more
important for Thomas, at least, is that he now
has less than 30 games to prove that he is still
a difference-maker in this league before free
agency rolls around for him once again next
year. That may be easier said than done after
his debilitating hip injury and swift departure
from Cleveland. Unfortunately for Thomas, the
Lakers already have a point guard in Lonzo
Ball and don’t necessarily need a ball-dominant
style of player to go alongside him who will
also undoubtedly require a huge payday on
the free agent market. Thomas may bring a
bit of excitement to the Staples Center floor
down the stretch run of this season, but all
that he really represents to the Lakers and
their front office is opportunity in the future.
“Let’s face it: in this league, you can’t have
an elite team if you don’t have elite players,”
Pelinka went on to accurately explain. “So that
has to be the strategy if you want to be elite.”
As Pelinka knows, the NBA is a superstar-driven
league -- and although last week’s trade didn’t
necessarily bring the Lakers any real, tangible
superstars, it brought the team the flexibility to
go out and get those players. While the Lakers’
young core continues to excel, they and
their fans everywhere can rest easily knowing
that help will be on the way sooner, rather
than later. Once again under Earvin Johnson,
the Lakers pulled off their own little piece
of magic at the trade deadline and are now
well on their way towards rebuilding a team
that has been stuck in the mud for years now.
– Aserrao6@yahoo.com •
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