NBA Rumors: Anthony Davis Reveals LeBron James’ First Text After He Was Traded To L.A. Lakers
When he hired Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group as his new representative, most people were already expecting Anthony Davis to team up with LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers. When he demanded a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, the Lakers immediately emerged as his top trade destination. The Lakers may have failed to secure a deal before the February NBA trade deadline, but after the Boston Celtics backed out with their plan to trade for Davis in the 2019 NBA offseason, the Purple and Gold succeeded in acquiring “The Brow” from the Pelicans in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and multiple first-round picks.
Everyone in the Lakers’ organization celebrated after learning about the trade, including LeBron James. In an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Anthony Davis was asked how long did it take for him to hear from James after the blockbuster deal was announced.
“Maybe like 10 minutes after? It was a long text, ‘yeah bro! We finally got you! Yeah!’… He was excited,” Davis said, as quoted by SB Nation’s Silver Screen And Roll. “That was a good feeling, just to have someone like that be one of the first people to text me.”
It’s easy to understand why LeBron James was so excited about having Anthony Davis on his team. James suffered a huge disappointment in his first year wearing the Purple and Gold, and the outcome of the 2018-19 NBA season proved that he needed other NBA superstars by his side to give the Lakers a realistic chance of contending for the NBA championship title. After seeing him play in past years, James is definitely aware of what Davis will bring to the Lakers.
Anthony Davis revealed what LeBron James texted him when he got traded to the Lakers. https://t.co/tDi7Hf3iHX pic.twitter.com/x0LHKPzO2x
— Silver Screen and Roll (@LakersSBN) July 31, 2019
Davis will tremendously boost the Lakers’ performance on both ends of the floor in the 2019-20 NBA season. Aside from being a very reliable scoring option, Davis is also an incredible rebounder, shot-blocker, floor-spacer, and facilitator. In the 2019 NBA free agency, Davis and James teamed up in recruiting another superstar to the Lakers.
However, their top target, Kawhi Leonard, ended up joining the other team situated in Los Angeles – the L.A. Clippers. Still, despite failing to acquire Leonard, the Lakers still managed to surround James and Davis with a quality supporting cast this summer. After Leonard signed with the Clippers, the Lakers used their salary cap space to sign DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green, Jared Dudley, Quinn Cook, Avery Bradley, and Troy Daniels. The Lakers also decided to bring back some of their own free agents, like Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, and Alex Caruso.
