2. Trading Anthony Davis to Canada for Pascal Siakam
The Toronto Raptors are going to get eliminated (if they haven’t already by the time you are reading this) in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers were already climbing an uphill battle against Philly and that battle got tougher when Scottie Barnes went down with injury.
The Raptors are building someone nice up in Toronto and the team does not have to be outright aggressive in making a splashy move. That being said, we have seen Toronto make splashy moves before and you cannot write them off in potentially being interested in Anthony Davis.
Davis at his best is obviously an upgrade over Pascal Siakam, who is likely going to be named to the All-NBA Third Team this season after a stellar second half of the season. However, this is more than just a flip as the Lakers would also be improving from Talen Horton-Tucker to OG Anunoby.
If everything is equal then the Lakers should never make this trade. However, if the front office was legitimately concerned about Davis’s health in the future and could convince the Raptors of taking the protections off of that 2024 pick then this would not be an awful trade package.
Getting another All-NBA player, great rotation player and an unprotected first would be a great price to get for someone who you are concerned about. But of course, if those concerns do not exist then this trade does not happen.
Verdict: Pursue (only with legitimate injury concerns)