Los Angeles Lakers: Why Anthony Davis trade was a win for both teams

With the dust starting to settle around the Anthony Davis trade, let’s look at the trade for both the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans.

With every big trade comes the inevitable discussion pertaining to the winner of said trade. Perhaps it’s the nature of us sports fans — we like to have a winner and we like to have a loser. It’s almost clockwork that as soon as a major trade is finalized; media members and fans alike rush to determine which team got ‘fleeced’.

This mentality is no different when it comes to the Anthony Davis trade, as people were quick to talk about either how the Lakers ‘overpaid’, or how the Pelicans should have accepted another team’s offer. Let’s set the record straight once and for all, and take a closer look at this trade.

Let’s start with Davis’ former team; the Pelicans, who received for all intents and purposes, an instant rebuild package in this trade. They get a pass-first, transition oriented point-guard in Lonzo Ball, who is on his way to becoming an elite defender. Brandon Ingram, who has steadily improved each year, and has shown flashes of being a versatile two-way player. Also, they received Josh Hart, who is at worst, a capable 3&D player.

Each of these players, especially Ball project to be a great fit next to No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson. I can already imagine a Lonzo-Zion fast break, with Ingram and Hart flanking the sides, and how terrifying that could be for opposing defenses.

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In addition, the team received an incredible amount of draft capital to either build a foundation for the future, or trade for established talent to pair with Zion Williamson and Jrue Holiday should the team find themselves closer to contention than they realize.

That was one of the follies of the previous Pelicans front office when it came to building a team around Anthony Davis, as the team traded numerous first-round picks, and made questionable signings for potential impact players which proved woefully unsuccessful.

With this new David Griffin led front office, it’s clear that he is trying to build a foundation for this team that will allow them to consistently compete in the future, and with one trade, the team has already set themselves up for this.

Let’s flip the coin and look at why the Lakers also came out on top.

The answer is pretty simple — the Lakers get a top-7 player entering his prime to pair with LeBron James. Ever since the team signed LeBron in the summer of 2018, the clock has been ticking to pair James with elite level talent. Last season was an abject disaster for the Lakers, and Rob Pelinka and company were dead-set on making sure they didn’t make the same mistake this season.

It was unrealistic to expect James — who will be 35 heading into the 2019-2020 season — to simply ‘wait a year’ for the possibility of signing Davis. If this year’s free-agency is any indication, it’s that you never know what’s going to happen. Last year’s young Lakers team had potential, but for a player like James, who is consistently in ‘win-now’ mode, potential doesn’t mean much.

So not only do you pair LeBron James with quite possibly the best player he’s ever played with so far in his career, you secure Davis’ Bird Rights, which allows the team to go over the cap to sign him next year when his contract is up,

To the people balking over the draft capital the Lakers had to surrender, let’s look at some other trades involving multiple first rounders. The Dallas Mavericks recently traded two first-round picks to acquire Kristaps Porzingis earlier this year, and the Miami Heat traded two first round picks for Goran Dragic back in 2015.

But perhaps the best analog to this type of deal happened earlier this week, when the Los Angeles Clippers traded a total of seven first-round picks (three unprotected LAC picks, two unprotected pick-swaps, and two MIA picks) to acquire Paul George.

Looking at the Davis trade in relation to the trades mentioned makes the deal much more palatable. Davis is younger than Paul George, doesn’t have as bad of a medical history, and is arguably a better fit with his co-star.