Lakers Rumors: New York Knicks on level ground for Anthony Davis
Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors are not promising for the franchise, as they are on even ground with the New York Knicks when it comes to Anthony Davis’ preference.
Los Angeles Lakers rumors involving Anthony Davis have not been overly positive recently. Los Angeles is beginning to get the feeling that they will not be able to acquire Davis prior to the trade deadline.
According to recent reports, the Lakers are not optimistic about their chances. While a trade seems unlikely prior to Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline, there is still hope that Davis would eventually land with the Lakers as a free agent.
Thus far, Davis has remained adamant that he only wants to be with the Lakers long-term. If he is traded, Davis has said it will be as a rental as he would sign with the Lakers once he hit free agency in 2020.
While that isn’t an ideal scenario, as it would mean waiting another season before landing a superstar to pair with LeBron James, it would at least give fans a reason for optimism. However, even the Lakers chances to sign Davis in free agency seem to be waning.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the New York Knicks are also in the running for AD. Not only are they in the running, Stein reports that they are on equal footing with the Lakers.
In addition to the Knicks, Stein reports that the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks are also on Davis’ preferred list.
Anthony Davis has the Knicks on equal footing with the Lakers in terms of teams he is interested in signing with long-term, @NYTSports has learned. The Clippers and Bucks also remain preferred destinations on his list
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 7, 2019
Things have already gotten rough for the Lakers, but this latest Stein report is a real gut punch. The Knicks made a shocking blockbuster trade last week, sending Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks.
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Porzingis was arguably the best thing that has happened to the Knicks in the past two decades. However, unloading him has put the team in position to sign two max free agents this upcoming summer. If they play their cards right, they could add Davis to that mix as well.
This upcoming summer, the Knicks could put together a package of their 2019 first round pick, which is looking more and more likely to be in the top-4, Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox, Damyean Dotson and Dennis Smith Jr.
That would be a very enticing package for the Pelicans, especially if that draft pick becomes the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery. New York is also in the Eastern Conference, and they aren’t the Lakers, two things the petty Pelicans like.
The Clippers also pulled off a big deal of their own, trading Tobias Harris to the Philadelphia 76ers for Tyson Chandler, Landry Shamet, Mike Muscala and a multitude of picks. The picks are what could be used to acquire Davis in a trade, while the team has also cleared cap space to sign a max free agent of their own.
With each passing hour, the chances of the Lakers trading for Davis not only diminish, but the chances of acquiring him at all get slimmer as well.
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The Knicks being on level ground with the Lakers, and other teams being on Davis’ list, is not good news for the Lakers. Their hopes of landing Davis, or another superstar, get slimmer whenever another team opens up enough money for a max contract.