Los Angeles Lakers: Is Anthony Davis really worth the young core

Los Angeles Lakers fans are giddy at the fact Anthony Davis has asked for a trade. But, how much is too much for the Pelicans’ superstar?

The basketball universe, specifically Los Angeles Lakers fans, has blown up over the fact that Anthony Davis asked for a trade. “The Brow” is a special talent, but he does he really deserve all of the attention he’s receiving? Let’s dig in and see just how good Anthony Davis really is.

Anthony Davis by the numbers (at least the ones that everybody likes to discuss):

Career PER: 27.4
Career Win Shares: 70.4
Career Points Per Game: 24
Career Rebounds Per Game: 10.6
Career Value Over Replacement Player: 26.9
Career Box Plus/Minus: 4.8
Career Defensive Rating: 103
Career Offensive Rating: 117

Those numbers are incredibly impressive and they’ve come before Anthony Davis has even hit his prime.

Switching gears for a moment: Here’s what a few of the experts at ESPN said when asked the question: “What should the Lakers do now ?”

"Quote #1: Bobby Marks said, “Offer everyone not named LeBron James. The Lakers have now until Feb. 7 to get a deal done. If they don’t, it’s much more likely that Davis will be in a Celtics uniform next season. However, there is no incentive for the Pelicans to get a deal done in the next two weeks, knowing that Boston has the best offer to make in July.”"

"Quote #2: Tim Bontemps said, “Offer every single asset they have to New Orleans and hope it’s enough. And by every single one, I truly mean every one. Ingram, Kuzma, Josh Hart, Ball, Zubac, multiple first-round picks — any combination shouldn’t stop the Lakers from pairing Davis with James. Part of the reason that’s the case, though, is that it’s hard to see it being enough to get the job done…”"

Those are just a couple of “experts” opinions, but I can assure 90% of the people around the NBA think the same as they do about Davis, which is to say they believe he’s a top-3 player in the NBA and the Lakers should be willing to trade every single asset they have to get him.

They think that LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and a bunch of minimum contracts would make for a better team than the Lakers have now.

Now let’s look at some stats, that aren’t as impressive, and that nobody seems to ever mention.

Career Win/Loss Record: 235-295, 20th best in the NBA since Davis started playing for the Pelicans
Career Appearances in the playoffs: 2
2018-2019 Clutch Points Per Game (Clutch situations take place during the last 5 minutes of a game where no team is winning by more than 5 points): 2.2, which is 50th in the NBA
2018-2019 Clutch Game Win/Loss Record: 7-16
2018-2019 4th Quarter Offensive Rating: 113.6, which is 60th in the NBA
2018-2019 4th Quarter Defensive Rating: 103.5, which is 193rd in the NBA

Anthony Davis has lost a lot of games in his career and I’ve never heard anybody blame him for those losses. Some people hold the Pelicans management responsible, others say Davis hasn’t won more because of his team’s bad injury luck, but most people say he’s never had a good supporting cast.

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Is it true that Davis has never had good enough teammates? This season Davis is playing with Jrue Holiday, Julius Randle, Nikola Mirotic, and E‘Twaun Moore. Are those guys scrubs? Jrue Holiday is an All-Star. Julius Randle is averaging 20 PPG, 9 RPG, 3 APG, while playing great defense. Nikola Mirotic’s been injured for 20 games, but he’s been a stud when he’s been on the court, and Moore’s been one of the top 3-and-D players in the NBA.

This year the Pelicans are 23-28. They’ve played in 23 games in which they were within five points of the other team with five minutes left, but they’ve only won seven of those games. As seen above, Davis’s clutch stats and 4th quarter numbers, in general, haven’t been great.

If Davis is the superstar that everybody says he is, shouldn’t he be able to actually help the Pelicans win close games this year? If Davis was one of the top clutch players in the NBA the Pelicans would easily be in the playoffs right now.

I disagree with the “experts” opinions about how bad the Lakers need Anthony Davis: The Purple and Gold would not be better off by trading Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, Josh Hart, and Moritz Wagner for “The Brow.” Anthony Davis puts up great stats, but he’s not a winner.

There are two types of players in the NBA: those who love to win and those who hate to lose. If a player loves to win he’ll do what he can to get a victory, but if his team still loses he’ll feel mad for a few minutes and then he’ll forget about it and get on with his night.

However, if a player hates to lose, he’ll do anything he can to not take an L. He’ll dive on the floor for a loose ball, he’ll make that extra pass late in a game, and he’ll play perfect defense even when he’s completely gassed. Simply put: he’ll do all of the little things and all of the big things to make sure his team doesn’t lose. Losing makes this type of player want to punch a wall, throw-up, or cry at night in his bed. Losing is the worst thing in the world to this type of guy.

Anthony Davis wants to win, but he doesn’t hate to lose, he’s just not built that way. He’s not a great 4th quarter player and he can’t will his team to victory during the final moments of a close game, because he doesn’t have that hatred of losing to push him. The Lakers do have four players right now who hate to lose: LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, Lonzo Ball, and Kyle Kuzma.

James and Rondo haven’t been the subject of trade talks, so I’ll skip them and go right to Ball and Kuzma. Lonzo and Kuz hate losing with a passion that can be very fun to watch.

I’ve been to a few different Lakers games this year when the Purple and Gold were losing in the 4th quarter. Each time the Lakers were down late, I saw the same thing from Kuzma. First, he’d look up at the scoreboard during the 4th quarter and see how much the Lakers were down by. Then, right after he saw the score, he’d grind his teeth a little bit. Next, he’d get this creepy look of hatred in his eyes, and finally, he’d start giving 110% effort.

Lonzo Ball also hates losing, but he shows it differently than Kuzma. Ball hates losing so much that he does everything in his power to stop the Lakers from taking an L by playing inspired defense.

I’ve seen Lonzo flip into another gear when the Lakers are down in the 4th quarter and its something to watch in person. When Lonzo senses the Lakers are going to lose, he goes Tasmanian Devil on the opposing team. He gets strips and blocks, and he creates havoc on defense.

It’s odd to me that people keep saying Anthony Davis is a top-3 player in the NBA. Here’s a list of players whom if they were to take Davis’s place on the Pelicans, would be able to get New Orleans into the playoffs:

I’d love for the Lakers to make a trade for Anthony Davis, but there’s no way I’d give up too much for him as many people in the media have suggested.

I’d trade Ingram, Hart, Wagner, and two first round picks for Davis, but not more for a player who isn’t a force of nature who can drag his team into the playoffs.

If the Pelicans asked the Lakers to include Kuzma or Ball, I’d keep the entire young core intact, and try to sign Durant or Leonard over the summer.