Los Angeles Lakers: Overpaying for Anthony Davis in a trade would be a mistake

After years of rebuilding, the Los Angeles Lakers should not overpay for Anthony Davis in a trade.

On February 21, 2017 controlling owner of the Lakers, Jeanie Buss, fired GM Mitch Kupchak and VP of Operations Jim Buss. She replaced the two men who ran the Lakers 20 feet into the ground with Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka.

Since Magic and Pelinka have taken over control of the Lakers they’ve done a great job. Here’s a quick rundown of what “Maginka” have done to get the Lakers to where they are today.

•  They developed a plan for the Lakers, which was based around playing great defense and getting out in transition. Every move the two have made over the last couple of years has been based around these two aspects.
•  Magic and Pelinka dealt D’Angelo Russell and Timothy Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in the draft. This deal helped the Lakers in three ways. First, the Lakers were able to dump Mozgov’s contract, which was the worst in the league. Second, the Lakers traded the immature and defensively hopeless Russell to pave the way for Lonzo Ball. Third, the Lakers used the pick they received from the Nets to draft future All-Star, Kyle Kuzma.
•  They dealt Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. to the Cavs, which freed up the money needed to sign LeBron James over the summer.
•  Besides drafting Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma, they also drafted Josh Hart, Moritz Wagner, and Svi.
• This past summer they bought out Luol Deng, the player who had the 2nd worst contract in the NBA. This move will give the Lakers enough cap room to sign a 2nd max free agent this coming summer.
•  This past summer, besides signing LeBron, they also made three very good one-year deals with McGee, Rondo,and Stephenson (I didn’t mention KCP’s one-year deal, because it’s not very good). These deals brought in three good players who are helping the team this year, while not hindering the Lakers pursuit of a max player this summer.

In summary: Over the last two years, Magic and Pelinka have taken the Lakers from the burning dumpster fire that Kupchak and Buss created, into a playoff team. It’s almost impossible for two people to turn a team around as fast as “Maginka” have. Just ask the Kings or the Suns.

What’s even more impressive, is that if the Lakers do manage to sign a second superstar over the summer they’ll be a title contender next season. The Lakers will be one of the best teams in the NBA, with at least a 5-year championship window, because the Purple and Gold’s young core of Ball, Kuzma, Ingram, Hart, and Zubac are all 23 years old or younger.

According to the latest rumors the Lakers don’t want to take things slow and try to pursue a max-free agent over the summer. Instead, Magic and Pelinka are hell bent on acquiring Anthony Davis. A couple of days ago the news broke that the Lakers offered the Pelicans: Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley, and a 1st round pick for AD.

That deal is a very good one for the Lakers, because they’d still be keeping Ingram, Hart, and Zubac, while landing a superstar in Anthony Davis, but the problem is that Dell Demps, the Pelicans GM, has said that he was “very underwhelmed” by the offer.

The Pelicans want more of the Lakers young assets, but Magic and Pelinka need to stay strong and continue to act as the best front office in the league.

Many experts around the NBA have gone on record saying that the Lakers should be willing to give up Ball, Kuzma, Hart, Ingram, and Zubac for AD, but that would be the dumbest thing the Lakers could do. Everything I’ve seen from Magic and Pelinka over the last two years tells me they won’t make a huge offer for Anthony Davis during a moment of weakness, because they’re too smart for that.

Despite what the experts around the NBA say, a team that consists of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, Tyson Chandler, and a bunch of other guys wouldn’t be very good.

The two best teams in the West right now are Golden State and Denver. How did both teams become title contenders? By drafting well and signing one or two very good players via free-agency.

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The Warriors drafted Curry, Thompson, and Green. Then they signed Iguodala and Durant in free agency.

The Nuggets drafted Jokic, Murray,and Harris. Then they signed Millsap in free agency.

Golden State and Denver are both at the top of the West standings because they’re deep and talented.

Last year, the Rockets went another route, but in the end they were also a very talented and deep team. They traded for Harden and signed CP3 in free agency. Then surrounded their superstar back-court with very good role players in Gordon, Ariza, Mbah a Moute, Tucker, and Capela.

The point is this: if the Lakers land AD before the trade deadline by offering up the entire young core, and even if the Purple and Gold are able to sign Klay Thompson over the summer, that wouldn’t be enough to win a championship, because the Lakers would be too thin.

In today’s NBA, teams not only need superstar talent, but they must also be deep and talented as well.

Magic and Pelinka have done a great job so far. They’ve drafted well and built a good all-around team, plus they landed their first superstar in LeBron this past summer.

If the Lakers are able to make a reasonable trade for Davis, then of course they should, but if the Pelicans ask for too much, then all “Maginka” needs to do is look at how Golden State, Denver, and Houston have built their teams to know they must say no to the Pelicans.

If the Lakers don’t end up getting AD it’s OK. The Purple and Gold have still come a long way since the Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak days, and the future looks bright.