Things have not been going well for Anthony Davis. Davis is having his worst season since joining the Los Angeles Lakers, and quite frankly, might be having his worst season since his rookie year in the NBA. On top of that, Davis recently suffered an MCL sprain that is going to keep him out of action for at least a month.
Both of these things — Davis struggling and not being able to stay healthy, again — has led some fans to believe that an Anthony Davis trade is what is best for the team. Heck, after AD hurt his knee “trade AD” was trending on Twitter.
Laker fans demand excellence and demand excellence now. It does not matter what Davis has done for them in the past, some fans still want to see the team move on from Davis and get assets in return.
However, an Anthony Davis trade will NEVER happen with the Los Angeles Lakers.
While I definitely understand that there should be worries about Davis being the future of the team, trading him just makes no sense. The Lakers already traded so many assets for Davis, they are not going to part ways with him because he is struggling.
The Lakers have to lie in the bed that they made and they have committed to LeBron James and Anthony Davis with Davis being the planned torch-bearer once LeBron eventually retires or is no longer playing at an elite level.
Could Davis leave in free agency the first chance he gets? Sure. Should the Lakers offer him a massive contract at that point in time? It is unclear, that depends on what is happening then, not now.
So while Davis very well could leave the Lakers once his contract expires, there is absolutely zero chance that the team trades him at any point during his tenured contract. Let’s break down the two reasons why.