Lakers Trade Rumors: Anthony Davis May Move For Lonzo Ball, Julius Randle, Luol Deng, Suggests ‘LA Sports Hub’
Trade rumors surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers have continued, even as this year’s deadline has come and gone. This time, the Hollywood team is being linked to New Orleans Pelicans’ star Anthony Davis in a potential summer deal.
Coming into the 2018 free agency period, three big-name players are particularly being mentioned in the Lakers’ rumor mill: LeBron James, Paul George, and DeMarcus Cousins. However, some analysts believe that the Lakers’ current young core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma may not be enough to entice any one of them to join the squad.
Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck said that the “young Lakers aren’t ready to contend,” and that would be a major hindrance to persuade LeBron to leave Cleveland for the second time. James is all about championships right now, and while he would definitely upgrade the games of Ball and Ingram enough for the Lakers to become a playoff squad, just getting in the postseason is said to be not enough for the King.
Nevertheless, Beck noted that if James does decide to move to L.A., then the probability of George following him would be quite high.
However, that is a big “if” as the Lakers would have to secure signing LeBron first before all the dominoes fall perfectly into place.
Jason Reed of FanSided’s LA Sports Hub suggested that the Lakers should trade for Anthony Davis before this summer’s free agency market opens.
Davis’ presence on the Lakers’ roster is believed to be significant enough to attract James’ attention. LeBron’s fondness for Davis was recently shown when the three-time NBA champion revealed that he picked Davis next to Kevin Durant during the All-Star Game starters draft with Stephen Curry.
Reed’s proposed trade looked something like this: Ball, Julius Randle, Luol Deng, and the Lakers’ 2019 first-round draft pick in exchange for Davis.
Reed cited Davis’ comments during an interview with Rachel Nichols in a recent episode of The Jump as signs that the five-time NBA All-Star might already be considering getting out of New Orleans while he is still healthy and young.
In the interview, Davis reacted to Paul Pierce’s references on former Celtics teammate Kevin Garnett. Garnett reportedly said that he regretted “not requesting a trade sooner out of Minnesota,” and Davis admitted that it made him “think,” and that he was “wondering” if he was “following the same path.”
Reed believes that while “Davis looks to be loyal now,” those kinds of comments would certainly be disturbing for the Pelicans unless New Orleans can come up with a big offseason this summer.
