NBA Trade Grades: Lakers score Anthony Davis in blockbuster deal

Los Angeles Lakers

If it feels like the Los Angeles Lakers gave up a ton to acquire Anthony Davis, well, it’s because they did.

Even without having to include Kyle Kuzma — who was always a very odd sticking point in the negotiations, if we’re being perfectly honest — the Lakers gave up their “point guard of the future” in Ball, a player who was supposedly “off limits” less than a year ago in Ingram, a talented 3-and-D wing whose role was all over the place last year in Hart, three first round picks and the rights to swap two more.

The Pelicans wanted to loop in a third team because they didn’t think they’d find a trade suitor capable of meeting all their demands. General manager Rob Pelinka and the raging dumpster fire that is now the Lakers front office rose to the occasion, and as it turns out, they were almost certainly bidding against themselves:

With that being said, between the front office chaos, LeBron James’ waning prime and the daunting free agency landscape this summer, the Lakers’ only option was to trade for Anthony Davis. Period.

Before agreeing to this trade, the Lakers were an extremely unattractive free agency destination. Magic Johnson‘s public resignation from his position as team president, and all the negative fallout from his PR tour afterwards when he threw Pelinka under the bus, revealed how dysfunctional this organization really was.

Although LeBron is undoubtedly still one of the best five players on the planet, he finally operated at a level below his usual, untouchable cyborg self in 2018-19, missing 27 games due to injury, playing non-existent defense and displaying an unnerving lack of leadership for a young core that failed to take the next step forward.

With LeBron being 34, and with all the pressure that comes with being in the King’s court, it would’ve been hard to imagine any of the summer’s top free agents wanting to sign on for that experience. There’s a reason most of the big-name stars have been mentioned in conjunction with the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, or even the Lakers’ Staples Center neighbors, the Los Angeles Clippers.

Trading for Anthony Davis, however, totally flips that script. The Lakers have two certified top-five talents. AD plugs up a gaping hole at center and, when healthy and engaged, he’s a perennial MVP and Defensive Player of the Year candidate. This not only takes a load off LeBron — who somehow still averaged a 27-8-8 stat line last year — on offense, but covers for him on defense as well.

With two superstars in tow, the Lakers have sway in free agency once again. Kemba Walker will be one of their top targets, according to the New York Times‘ Marc Stein, and it’s easy to see that list growing over the next week or so.

Depending on the timing of when the deal is officially complete, and whether AD waives his $4 million trade bonus, the Lakers will have either $27.8 million or $32.5 million in cap room, per ESPN‘s Bobby Marks.

That should be enough to attract a Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving or some other max-level name to ensure the Lakers don’t waste another year of LeBron’s dwindling prime like they did in 2018-19.

There are several questions the Lakers will need to answer in the coming months. The most prominent one right now, aside from the superstar question, is how the front office will round out the rest of the roster. The 2018-19 Lakers were poorly constructed and sorely lacking in 3-point shooting. Those kinds of mistakes cannot happen again, especially with Yahoo! Sports‘ Chris Haynes reporting that Davis will test free agency next summer.

The Lakers are also paying a hefty price when it comes to adding cost-controlled talent in the future, which means excelling in free agency and on the trade market is paramount. The pick swap won’t matter if L.A. is still a contender (or at least better than NOLA) in 2023, but LeBron will be 39 years old by then. AD could be long gone. There’s significant risk here, especially by 2024 and 2025.

All in all, this is a massive gamble for the Lakers. They sacrificed three of their four best young players in addition to multiple chances to add more through the draft for the next half-decade. Even if they got to keep Kyle Kuzma, there’s still a ton of work to be done. If they fail, it’s not out of the question that AD will look elsewhere in 2020.

However, they now have the inside track to re-signing Anthony-Freaking-Davis next summer, they added a much-needed superstar to LeBron James’ side for the upcoming season and they bolstered their chances of landing another in free agency right when the situation was looking bleak. The Lakers gave up a boatload, but they had to if they want to assemble a legitimate title contender around the King before it’s his time to give up the throne.

Grade: B-