On June 15th, 2019 at 6:27 P.M. EST, Adrian Wojnarowski officially announced the end of the Anthony Davis saga in New Orleans. After months of limited playing time, multiple teams offering for trades, and even a fake unibrow shave, Anthony Davis was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. Many rumors recently swirled of a third team being involved, but no such team was interested. It ended up being a two-team deal, with the details as follows:
Let’s go over each side of the deal and the impact of the league as a result of it.
The Los Angeles Lakers
Lonzo Ball
Clearly, the Lakers had been eyeing Anthony Davis for quite some time. As for Lonzo Ball, the first piece of the trade, the Lakers didn’t see him as the future point guard of the team. I didn’t either, but I also thought they would keep their pick and take someone like Darius Garland, who has more potential. However, they decided that Lonzo Ball was a lost cause and shipped him off to New Orleans. I don’t blame them either, his value is only going down.
Brandon Ingram
Opinions vary on Brandon Ingram. Depending on who you ask, he’s either going to be an all-star, or an average starter at best. I personally think that his ceiling is about a prime Gordon Hayward. I do think he will fit well in New Orleans, but the chemistry just wasn’t working out in L.A.. The Lakers are okay with giving him up, as he just wasn’t in their future plans. I do think that they will miss him occasionally. He was an extra perimeter shooter for LeBron.
Josh Hart/The Picks
I’m grouping Hart and the picks together because I think that they are about the same value. Hart is a solid role player, and all the picks have the potential to be exactly that. Let’s assume that they are going to be around the 20-ish area. Hart was taken with the 30th pick. I think that Hart was a nice spark off the bench, and similar to Ingram, will be missed. He will most likely be replaced with a veteran, but there’s no denying that Hart has a lot of potential. The picks were necessary to give up if they didn’t want to give up Kyle Kuzma, but I don’t think it was the right choice. With the 4th overall pick, they could have taken somebody like Darius Garland, and in the coming years, they could have some cheap, solid role players with those picks. Clearly, they have something in mind for the point guard position in free agency. (Cough, cough, Kyrie Irving, cough cough.)
Anthony Davis
This is kind of obvious. LeBron wanted a star, the Lakers got a star. Now they have a semi-big-three with LeBron, AD, and Kyle Kuzma. Nowadays in the NBA, you need star power to compete. A good example of that is the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan was on the verge of becoming a star, but wasn’t quite there. With LeBron out of the east, the Raptors knew their window was short, so they made the move to acquire Kawhi Leonard — a move which would shape the 2018–19 NBA season. The Lakers are looking to do the same thing here.
The New Orleans Pelicans
Anthony Davis
As of right now, the specifics aren’t out on the trade, so all we know that New Orleans is giving up is Anthony Davis. I’m sure there’s cash, second round picks, and protections involved, but I’m going off what we know. Getting rid of Anthony Davis was a must. Especially with Zion Williamson coming in, it was the end of an era in New Orleans. This is Zion’s team now. Davis requested a trade, and he got one. Also, as I’m writing this, Adrian Wojnarowski just tweeted out that the Pelicans are fielding offers for the fourth pick. If I need to change my mock draft one more time…
The Players
On the receiving end of this, I am just grouping all the players together, because I think they all represent one thing: potential. If this possible starting lineup of Lonzo/Hart/Ingram/Zion/4th pick blossoms, then you have an NBA title contender right there. Obviously Lonzo Ball is going to be big for marketing and promotions, too. They just wanted to become young through this trade.
The Picks
Now, the fourth pick is apparently being shopped by New Orleans. This makes sense, but to me, what I want to see happen is them moving up one pick to get R.J. Barrett. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Knicks don’t want Barrett. If that is true, then why not move down? Zion Wiliamson and R.J. Barrett have the chemistry. In my opinion, Zion seeing Barrett go one pick in front of the Pelicans would be unacceptable. At that point, why not shop the other picks you acquired in the trade? I see superteam potential as a possibility here.
The Trade Deadline Offer
Back at the trade deadline, New Orleans denied this offer from Los Angeles:
Looking back on it, and even in real time, I thought this was a no-brainer for the Pelicans. This is a better offer. The Pelicans could have gotten both the fourth pick and Kuzma. Without giving up Kuzma, the trade almost feels like a steal for the Lakers. However, the Pelicans gained a lot from the trade. If they clear up some money from people like Solomon Hill, they might be able to get a big name free agent soon.
The Overview
Overall, I think the Pelicans straight up won this trade. If LeBron wanted to play with a star, he should’ve gone to Philadelphia. This year is wide open though, and now with Anthony Davis, the Lakers’ aspirations are high. The tipping point for me is the fourth overall pick. That pick has too much value to put in this trade. The Pelicans are spoiled now. They could take Darius Garland, Jarrett Culver, trade up for R.J. Barrett, or trade down and take a center. These are just my initial thoughts on the Davis to L.A. trade. New Orleans is suddenly looking a lot more appealing for free agents, too, and with the fourth overall pick, are looking dangerous. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get the #4 or #5 seed next year. I see the Lakers in the same range, as well. Could we see an Anthony Davis vs. Pelicans first round series?
