If recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors are true, the organization has a huge trade offer on the table to the New Orleans Pelicans for Anthony Davis.
Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors have been dominated by Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans. Los Angeles is working hard to acquire Davis from New Orleans prior to the NBA Trade Deadline on Feb. 7.
It has been tough sledding thus far for the Lakers front office. New Orleans is not happy with how things have materialized in regards to Davis requesting a trade. As a result, they have made things difficult on the Lakers thus far.
At first, it was reported that the Pelicans had no interest in making a deal with Los Angeles. This is something we have heard in recent years, as the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs took similar stands with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Pelicans general manager Dell Demps was going as far as to not answer phone calls from the Lakers.
However, that has since changed, as the Pelicans are at least returning the Lakers calls, but nothing of substance has materialized just yet. The two sides are expected to be in touch again before the deadline next week.
While New Orleans may not want to appease Davis by trading him to the Lakers, they may be hard-pressed to turn down some of the offers that are being put on the table. According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers are bringing out all the stops to land Davis.
Turner reported that one of the trade scenarios the Lakers are willing to do includes Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac and a first-round pick.
Sources: Lakers let Demps know one of trade scenarios would include Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac, No. 1 pick, per source.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) January 31, 2019
That would be quite a haul for New Orleans if that report is indeed true. That would mean the Lakers are willing to unload virtually their entire cupboard of assets to land Davis. The only young player from the young core not mentioned in that trade offer is Josh Hart.
There probably isn’t a better package that the Lakers would be able to put together. One of the expiring contracts, such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Lance Stephenson, would have to be included for salary purposes.
With Lakers rumors swirling that Ball and his camp do not want to in New Orleans, the Pelicans could get even more out of this package. While the Pelicans reportedly view Ball as their starting point guard should they acquire him, they could decide they do not want to deal with his antics.
If the resentment from Ball and his camp is truly enough for the Pelicans to sour on him, there is no shortage of teams that need a point guard that the Pelicans could get even more assets from.
With less than a week until the trade deadline, expect more Lakers rumors to continue pouring in. The Lakers are clearly going all in on Davis, hoping to get the second superstar they covet to play alongside LeBron James and keep them open for business this summer to potentially add a third superstar to the mix.