Saturday afternoon the Los Angeles Lakers made a big splash by trading for superstar big man Anthony Davis. They gave up a million first round picks in the process as well as Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram. The key in this deal is the picks as a whole and keeping Kyle Kuzma who I think fits the best with James and Davis.
Check out the deal below:
FULL TRADE DETAILS:
Lakers receive:
Anthony DavisPelicans receive:
Lonzo Ball
Brandon Ingram
Josh Hart
2019 No. 4 overall pick
2 future 1st-round picks.WOW.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 15, 2019
The Pelicans will get the following picks from the Lakers, league sources tell ESPN:
No. 4 pick in 2019
Top-8 protected in 2021, becomes unprotected in ‘22
Unprotected swap in ‘23
Unprotected first in ‘24
Unprotected swap in ‘25Tremendous haul for David Griffin & the Pelicans.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) June 16, 2019
This deal makes the Lakers contenders right now, with James, Davis and Kuzma they have a formable Big 3 they just need to fill the roster with a few people who excel in spot up situations because that will be key and the ability to defend. Rumors are going wild from anybody like Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard, but who knows until people actually sign on the dotted line.
The Lakers need to target JJ Redick who is a scrappy defender and dead eye shooter. If they can land him on a fair one or two year deal that would be great. They also need to target Patrick Beverly he’s a solid shooter and a hell of a defender, I’d target him on an one or two year deal. The key with the solid veterans is not getting caught on a long contract so they can stay semi flexible. Seth Curry and Danny Green would be on my lists of shooters to try to obtain also both should be able to be had for fair prices, but I think a combination of adding at least two of these four would be a great starting point to help this roster go to the next level. If they get another big name fine, but they have to start with a few solid good shooting veterans.
This trade has put the Lakers back in the forefront especially with the injuries to the Warriors, will Davis and James bring LA a chip? Only time will tell, but they are in the mix now.
