Los Angeles Lakers: Was too much traded for Anthony Davis?

The Los Angeles Lakers finally came to an agreement to land Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, but did they give up too much in the deal?

It is a Saturday afternoon, and wind breaks that the Los Angeles Lakers have made a trade to land superstar Anthony Davis. Lakers fans rejoice. They got another star to play alongside LeBron James, which may now be the best duo in the NBA with the uncertainty of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry.

But, as time passes, we start to hear what the Lakers had to give up to get their second superstar and it is quite the haul the Pelicans received. It included three young NBA assets in Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart and three first-round picks, including the number four pick in this year’s draft.

The Pelicans come out high on the deal because, ultimately, it was known from the start that Anthony Davis would not stay in New Orleans, so them knowing allowed them to get assets back instead of rolling the dice. So, to receive all that they did, they should feel confident about what their future looks like going forward.

Anthony Davis is one of the best basketball players on the planet but was the package the Lakers sent to New Orleans worth it? The Lakers gutted their young core, don’t have enough space currently for another max contract and even if they did, they have eight open roster spots to fill. They retained Kyle Kuzma, who they can try to move in another deal or keep him to play along LeBron and The Brow.

Some people will say the deal was a great move to get LeBron another superstar to play alongside, and then there will be others that say the Lakers gave up too much and don’t have much flexibility anymore. Over time we will see if the Lakers will be able to work around the cap strain to player ratio and if it will be enough for the franchise to get back into title contention.

As of now, the Lakers starting lineup consists of Alex Caruso, Isaac Bonga, LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and Anthony Davis and their bench is Moritz Wagner. Although other moves will be made, the lack of depth and players behind Kuzma, LeBron and Davis is very concerning.

The Raptors showed what having good depth can do for you, and it paid off by winning a championship this season. The Lakers are putting all their chips in one basket and seemed to sell their soul to get another superstar.

The Lakers might get to a point where they sign a big name and then sign six vet minimum guys that know how to space the floor, similar to the LeBron Miami teams, with guys looking to get a ring late in their careers. The Lakers will bargain hunt and hope players take pay cuts to play with two of the best players in the game.

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Another possibility is working out a trade for Chris Paul, although not the player he once was, the Lakers can make deals in free agency and then work out a trade. This allows the Lakers to use their cap space and then get Chris Paul, who is signed under Bird Rights. Los Angeles is a gigantic market and will pay the tax to win with LeBron. The big question that surrounds that is how the Lakers would make a deal work salary wise or if they would even be able too.

The Lakers will win 50-55 games based on the fact of the duo they have, but when it gets down to it who else can they rely on to do some heavy lifting besides Kuzma? They made their one big trade to shake up the NBA instead of making multiple trades. By doing so they depleted their asset box.

If one thing is for sure, the Lakers are in it for LeBron and they will do whatever it takes to help get him his fourth ring. There will be many players interested in playing for LA on vet minimum deals, but will it be enough to navigate a tough Western Conference?

Time will tell what this trade means for both teams, but as of now, the Lakers have a lot of work to do to assemble a championship roster around their star duo. The Pelicans gained a lot of assets and now have a great young core in Brandon Ingram, Jrue Holiday, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball and probably Zion Williamson to work around, as well as many picks they can keep or trade.

If the Lakers win a championship, this deal becomes an easy win for the franchise, but with LeBron aging and the uncertainty with depth, will that come to fruition?

The 2019-20 season can’t come soon enough and it will be interesting to see what the Lakers have up their sleeve the rest of this offseason.