By After several months of drama and suspense, the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers finally made the trade to send all-star Anthony Davis to Los Angeles. Since going public about where he wanted to play Anthony Davis and his agent Rich Paul made it clear that the Lakers were their preferred destination to play alongside LeBron James and return the Lakers to prominence.
Naturally there were many trade scenarios and other destinations that would have rented Davis for 1 season similar to what the Toronto Raptors did last year when they acquired Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green from the Spurs in exchange for Demar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl. The Knicks, Celtics, Clippers and Nets were rumored candidates for Davis but the Lakers were the long term destination all along.
Yesterday’s trade send Anthony Davis to the Lakers for point guard Lonzo Ball, swingman Brandon Ingram, guard Josh Hart and 3 first round draft picks which includes the #4 pick in this Thursday’s draft to New Orleans. The trade is expected to be completed on July 6; the end of the free-agent moratorium but the landscape of the NBA is already changing before free agency starts on July 1.
The trade benefits both teams as the Lakers get their star big man to pair up with LeBron along with provide some stability in the Laker front office and the Pelicans get young talent and assets to rebuild and move on in a new direction with David Griffin the new executive VP of basketball operations has in mind. A lot may change this summer in the NBA and this is the first big domino to drop and set the tone for the off season.
