NBA Rumors: Lakers Superstar Anthony Davis Reveals Qualities Of ‘Ideal Teammates’ He Needs To Win Championship
The Los Angeles Lakers may have failed to acquire their superstar in the 2019 NBA free agency, but they still managed to surround Anthony Davis and LeBron James with quality players that can help them win the NBA championship title in the 2019-20 NBA season. After failing to acquire Kawhi Leonard, the Lakers used their salary cap space to sign DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green, Quinn Cook, Jared Dudley, Troy Daniels, and Avery Bradley. The Lakers also decided to bring back some of their own free agents like JaVale McGee, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo, and Alex Caruso.
In an interview with Rachel Nichols of ESPN, Anthony Davis praised Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka for trying to put the best team around him and LeBron James. Davis also admitted that during the crazy week of the 2019 NBA free agency, he was consistently receiving calls from Pelinka to ask about his opinion regarding a certain player that they were planning to sign. That could be the major reason why in his introductory press conference, the Lakers’ roster for the 2019-20 NBA season somehow fit Davis’ description of “ideal teammates.”
“Guys who want to win, no egos, guys who are just all in with the team,” Davis said when asked about his ideal teammates, as quoted by Lakers Nation. “Obviously, one of the things we talked about was the bigs and also a lot of shooters. Just knowing that guys are going to be double-teaming, triple-teaming, whatever. Now they have to be hesitant about that when we have shooters on the floor.”
LeBron James Brings Anthony Davis to 'Taco Tuesday!' https://t.co/R3jHsPWlW7
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 17, 2019
Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka has undeniably done a great job filling up their roster this summer. After suffering a huge disappointment in the 2018-19 NBA season, Pelinka immediately realized the mistakes they made last summer when they decided to prioritize playmakers over shooters. Having legitimate three-point threats like Danny Green, Quinn Cook, Jared Dudley, Troy Daniels, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Avery Bradley will make it easier for Anthony Davis and LeBron James to penetrate the basket or kick the ball out when they are trapped by the opposing team’s defense.
There are still some questions regarding where the Purple and Gold stand among the best defensive teams in the NBA, but Anthony Davis looks ready to anchor the Lakers’ defense in the 2019-20 NBA season.
“On the defensive end, obviously I think I can guard anybody but as Rob said, we want to be smart about the situation,” Davis said.
Lakers general Rob Pelinka definitely knows that Anthony Davis can do his job well on both ends of the floor. However, in order to make sure that he’s still in 100 percent shape when the real battle begins in the postseason, the Lakers decided to sign JaVale McGee and DeMarcus Cousins to help Davis battle against the best big men in the league. Davis won’t have a hard time sharing the frontcourt with McGee and Cousins since he knows how to efficiently play at the power forward position. Also, it’s worth noting that Davis and Cousins played together in New Orleans for one and a half seasons.
