Los Angeles Lakers: 3 ways to upgrade the roster outside Anthony Davis

The Los Angeles Lakers are facing an uphill battle to acquire Anthony Davis. There are still other ways for the team to upgrade the roster without Davis, and here are three of those options.

Immediately after the Los Angeles Lakers acquired the fourth overall pick in this years draft, many Lakers fans, like myself, jumped to the idea of bettering our chances to land Anthony Davis in a trade.

It’s no secret that the Lakers would trade an arm and a leg for Davis, but that didn’t seem to mean much to the Pelicans’ upper management earlier this season. In February, Los Angeles offered a package of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac and this year’s first-round pick for Anthony Davis.

This offer was overwhelming, and the Pelicans probably should have accepted it. LA was still in the playoff hunt at the time, though, so despite their generous offer to add in this year’s first round pick, the likelihood of it advancing negotiations wasn’t very high.

Now, that Lakers’ first-rounder has turned into the fourth overall pick, which should undoubtedly make that February offer look even nicer. On top of all that, the Lakers’ main competition in the Anthony Davis trade sweepstakes were the Boston Celtics, who have uniquely found themselves in an interesting position.

Just being eliminated in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks, Danny Ainge has some questions moving forward. Will Kyrie Irving remain a Celtic? As of now, that seems unlikely. What are Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown‘s value? Not as good as most would think, especially for Tatum.

Because of these uncertainties in Boston, and regarding Tatum among other Celtic young assets, reports have realized the Knicks as the primary competition for the Lakers to trade for Davis this summer.

Let’s say the Lakers would re-send their February trade offer minus Zubac and with the fourth pick added into the mix. This is the best realistic offer the Pelicans would receive, but New Orleans stays hellbent on not doing business with the Lakers. So that leaves the Knicks.

A Knicks trade package would likely include the third overall pick, Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox and future first rounders for Davis. Now, while the Lakers offer is stronger, it may not be strong enough to secure Davis. It seems like all that the Pelicans need is a slightly worse offer than the Lakers to accept a Davis trade, and the Knicks offer is just that.

Pairing R.J. Barrett with Zion Williamson, who would likely be the first and third overall picks, with some other solid but not great assets would be a great story and have positive implications for New Orleans. The two Blue Devils are publicly besties and have the same timelines for their NBA careers.

That being said, David Griffin is a good General Manager, meaning he should take the Lakers offer, as it’ll likely be the best one on the market. However, Pelicans’ ownership looks like the group behind these emotions, avoiding any and all business with the Lakers.

Reports state that the Pelicans are still refusing to trade with the Lakers, and although it doesn’t mean they for sure won’t, their alternative to trade with New York is good enough to prevent the Lakers from acquiring Davis.

So that leads to this very question; what are the Lakers’ other options? Here are three ways for the Lakers to upgrade the roster that doesn’t include acquiring Davis from the Pelicans.