The Los Angeles Lakers are rumored to be planning a run at Anthony Davis and are currently stockpiling assets in order to go after the talented big man.
As NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported, the Lakers are formulating plans to use their talented young core of players to entice the New Orleans Pelicans to part with Davis if he finds his way onto the trade block. As the Sporting News noted, Woj believes that the Lakers are trying to strike a delicate balance of not using these young players in any other trades to make incremental improvements, instead saving it all for their shot at Davis.
“Here’s the line they have to walk: They’re not going to give away picks and their top young players in some deal that makes them incrementally better this season because they have to save all those assets for Anthony Davis, a big trade this summer either pre- or post-free agency,” Wojnarowski said on the Woj/Lowe podcast.
The Pelicans had recently locked Davis down through the 2021 season, and are not considered likely to part with the big man anytime soon. With the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets both looking vulnerable this year, the Western Conference has suddenly grown more competitive and the Pelicans would likely not want to give up a chance at contending without a strong return.
As the Sporting News noted, that is likely what the Lakers would offer, with young players like Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Brandon Ingram giving a team the opportunity to build a young core that could hold a team with a long-term rebuild.
NBA trade rumors: Lakers ‘stockpiling assets’ to pursue Anthony Davis if he becomes available https://t.co/ZQJtyfypPd pic.twitter.com/sa7oGqaSuR
— Sporting News NBA (@sn_nba) December 16, 2018
Anthony Davis may not be the only target for the Lakers. As Woj also reported (via Real GM ), Kawhi Leonard is intent on returning to his native Los Angeles once he hits free agency, making the Toronto Raptors just a pit stop in his career. It wasn’t clear of Leonard was looking at the Lakers or Clippers, however.
“They can’t change the geography. They can’t change the weather in Toronto. Those were always things against them in this,” Wojnarowski said. “Home and L.A. has been the focus for Kawhi Leonard through all of this,” he added.
The Los Angeles Lakers have excelled at playing the long game in recent seasons. They reportedly started planning for LeBron James to hit free agency more than a year in advance, build a team with the young talent, and also assets that would attract LeBron out of Cleveland.
