NBA Rumors: Lakers Could Acquire Anthony Davis By 2019 If They Trade Ingram And Kuzma, Per ‘Fadeaway World’
With a report from ESPN suggesting that Anthony Davis is considering hiring the services of agent Rich Paul, who is best known for representing LeBron James, a series of rumors swirled, suggesting that Davis could somehow join the Los Angeles Lakers, possibly as soon as midway through the 2018-19 season. While it remains far from certain if the Lakers will be able to acquire the 25-year-old New Orleans Pelicans superstar center before his contract expires, a number of sources have suggested trades that could result in Davis joining James in Los Angeles at some point next year.
According to Fadeaway World, there’s a chance that Anthony Davis could become a Los Angeles Laker before the 2018-19 trade deadline in February if the first-team All-NBA center gets frustrated with the Pelicans’ expected lack of progress from a 2017-18 campaign where they lasted until the Western Conference semifinals. Assuming the Pelicans are unlikely to make the playoffs as of February 2019, Fadeaway World proposed that the Lakers could send Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac, and a future first-round draft pick to New Orleans to pull off such a blockbuster trade.
Should the Lakers choose to wait until the summer of 2019 to make a move, Fadeaway World suggested that Ingram and Kuzma could again be used as trade bait along with a future first-round draft pick in order to acquire Davis. The likely catch behind such a theoretical deal would be the chance that Davis might have only one year to play in Los Angeles due to his player option for the 2020-21 season, thus making it possible for him to opt out and sign elsewhere in the summer of 2020.
Anthony Davis reportedly cut ties with his agent and is leaning toward signing with Klutch Sports Group, which represents LeBron James, Ben Simmons and John Wall https://t.co/vCYuCMbIEv
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 8, 2018
As the third of three potential ways for Anthony Davis to join the Los Angeles Lakers, Fadeaway World also suggested that the team could wait until the summer of 2020 and simply sign him as a free agent if he remains unhappy with the Pelicans and chooses to opt out of his contract.
The aforementioned trade suggestions were similar to the one proposed by Fansided‘s Los Angeles Sports Hub earlier this week, as the publication recommended a midseason deal where the Lakers would acquire Anthony Davis by trading Brandon Ingram, Moritz Wagner, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Isaac Bonga, and a 2020 unprotected first-round pick to the Pelicans. Kyle Kuzma’s name was not included in that trade proposal, though the 23-year-old forward, like Ingram, has long been a staple of Lakers trade rumors and proposals involving superstar players.
