NBA: The 5 ripple effects of the Anthony Davis Trade

The Los Angeles Lakers finally acquired Anthony Davis, sending a tremendous ripple effect across the entire NBA landscape.

Less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers have made the first big splash of the 2019 off-season. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers traded away young players Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round draft picks to the New Orleans Pelicans for Anthony Davis.

The first pick the Pelicans will receive is the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, which is projected to be either Jarrett Culver or De’Andre Hunter. The Lakers are mortgaging their future in a similar risk the Toronto Raptors took with Kawhi Leonard last year.

If this upcoming season results in a championship, the Lakers will have no problem re-signing Davis to a long-term deal and would then have an MVP caliber player in his prime even after LeBron James’ tenure with the team ends.

If this season is another drama-filled year with little to no playoff success, AD could walk for nothing, LeBron could demand a trade and the Lakers could see themselves once again in a miserable rebuild.

Davis was honestly worth the haul, however. He averaged 25.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.4 blocks per game last season. He’s the best power forward in the NBA and is a dominant force on both sides of the ball.

He’s only 26 and entering the prime of his career. Similar to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal, he could become the next great Lakers big men to win championships in LA after spending time in smaller markets.

When a player of Davis caliber is traded, it affects the NBA landscape is so many different ways. It can alter the decisions of free agent players and front office executives alike in both the short and long term. Here are five ripple effects of the Anthony Davis trade to the Lakers.

5. Kawhi’s decision just got tougher

After having a historic postseason, delivering the Toronto Raptors their first NBA championship and winning Finals MVP, it seems like Kawhi Leonard has an easy decision in free agency. He should re-sign with the Raptors and try to repeat as NBA champions.

The Raptors seemingly have everything. A great front office and coach in Masai Ujiri and Nick Nurse, an All-Star point guard in Kyle Lowry and skilled young teammates in Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. They also have depth with players like Serge Ibaka, Danny Green and Marc Gasol all making an impact in the postseason as well.

Still, it seems like Leonard is attracted to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers also have a trusted executive and coach in Jerry West and Doc Rivers. They’re able to bring back a team that challenged a fully healthy Golden State Warriors squad to six games in the first round of the playoffs.

They could also open up salary cap space to add another top tier free agent, although it’s not clear which star would come to LA with The Klaw. Most importantly, the LA native would get to play in his hometown again.

Both the Raptors and Clippers will have enticing offers, but the Lakers trading for AD certainly complicates matters. Although Kawhi does not seem to be phased by much, he could be less inclined to move to Hollywood if he had to battle two superstars for supremacy in the Western Conference, Pacific division and Los Angeles.

Another potential consequence is that Leonard considers signing with the Lakers to form the next super team. Although this seems highly unlikely, Leonard would be joining a contending team and make them the clear favorites for the 2020 NBA title.

Whatever Kawhi’s choice, someone will walk away dissatisfied at the very least.

4. Boston needs to embrace the youth movement

Reports surfaced that the Boston Celtics refused to trade young star Jayson Tatum to the New Orleans Pelicans according to the New York Times‘ Marc Stein. This ultimately opened the door for the Lakers to offer a better deal and acquire Anthony Davis.

Now without Anthony Davis on the team, the Celtics likely will not be able to convince Kyrie Irving to re-sign. Irving has been heavily linked to the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, as it seems the former is the most likely to sign him. Although the AD trade might cause Irving to change his mind and either choose to regroup with the Celtics or to join a superteam in LA.

For the time being, this allows the Celtics some easy decisions. For one, the team should re-signed point guard Terry Rozier, who stated he would likely leave if Boston brought Irving back. Rozier had a smaller role as Boston saw the return of both Irving and Gordon Hayward from season-ending injuries in the 2017-18 season.

Rozier averaged only 9.0 points and 2.9  assists per game while shooting 38.7 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from the 3-point line. This contrasted his impressive averages during the 2017-18 playoffs, where Scary Terry averaged 16.5 points, 5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Rozier, 25, was not the only young player on Boston to suffer. During that same playoff run, Jaylen Brown average 18.3 points on 39.3 percent shooting from 3-point range. Brown, 22, saw his numbers dip to 13.0 points per game this past season. Tatum, the Celtics lone untouchable, saw a similar drop off from the 2018 postseason to the 2018-19 regular season.

The Celtics have some tough decisions to face in term of their veterans. Should the team let Al Horford walk in free agency for more salary cap space down the line? Should the Celtics trade Gordon Hayward if he continues to show he is not the same player he was prior to his injury?

Regardless, it’s clear that Boston should see what their young trio of Tatum, Brown and Rozier can do and avoid impeding their growth any further.

3. Hornets and Sixers’ job just got a lot harder this summer

The Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers will have their hands full trying to re-sign key free agents in the 2019 offseason.

The Hornets have Kemba Walker. The 28-year-old point guard that is coming off his best season in which he averaged 25.6 points, 5.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game while playing in all 82 games. Walker’s impressive play saw his team come up short, as the Hornets finished 39-43 and just barely missed the playoffs.

The Hornets have made the postseason in only two of the eight years Walker has played there, and never once escaped the first round. They are not anywhere close to adding talent in free agency and have had little success in the NBA Draft in recent years despite drafting in the lottery.

The Lakers view Walker as a top target, according to the New York Times‘ Marc Stein. They can offer him the opportunity to play with two players more talented than anyone he’s ever played with in Charlotte and a chance to win a championship.

Still, the Hornets could offer him the supermax and allow him to finish his career as the best Charlotte Hornet to ever live. It’s hard saying no to a five-year deal worth $221 million.

The Philadelphia 76ers, on the other hand, have a different conundrum. They saw their team take the eventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors to seven games in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs and came within four bounces of possibly advancing.

Now with both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris as upcoming free agents, the 76ers want to do everything in their power to retain both. Butler is another player the Lakers will target in free agency, per Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Butler is one of the best two-way guards in the league while Walker is an elite scorer and ball handler. Both could see the current opportunity of playing with the Lakers as too good to pass up, and it will be up to the Hornets and 76ers to convince them that staying where they are is the best possible decision.

2. Pelicans’ future looks bright again

Four months ago, the future looked bleak for the New Orleans Pelicans. One of the best players in the league announced that he would not be signing a contract extension and wanted out.

The Pelicans didn’t have any of their first-round draft picks since Anthony Davis, who was taken first overall in 2012. All of them were traded away in deals that were meant to add immediate talent but was never enough to make them a consistent, winning team.

Now after the pleasant surprise of winning the draft lottery and subsequently Zion Williamson, the Pelicans have hope for a fresh start with or without AD.  Trading him for young talented players like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, along with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, and the future looks brights for New Orleans.

New Orleans plans to compete for a playoff spot while improving the new young core, and could also make some moves to add an All-star caliber player. The Pelicans could potentially move Ball or the No. 4 pick to achieve this goal.

The Pelicans also still have Jrue Holiday under contract who is a solid guard that contributes on both ends of the floor. New Orleans could also try and re-sign center Julius Randle, although he may command more on the open market then they would want to give.

New Orleans can learn from their past mistakes and begin to view the draft as a consistent avenue to add young talent. They’ll have a fresh start with some transcendent young players, and general manager David Griffin won’t look to waste it.

1. The Lakers are once again contenders

LeBron James and Anthony Davis both impact the game in phenomenal ways. That doesn’t mean they don’t have their weaknesses, but now they can complement each other in ways that we’ve never seen before.

LeBron is one of the greats in terms of scoring and passing, but at the age of 35, has definitely lost a step on the defensive end. Davis can cover for these deficiencies, however.

Davis has also developed into a prolific scorer, but can’t dictate the game as many guards like Stephen Curry, James Harden and Damian Lillard do. With LeBron now handling the ball, AD can truly trust the player that’s responsible for running the show.

The idea of LeBron and AD in the pick-and-roll is a scary thought. Even though neither player is an elite shooter from outside the arc, they’re both so dominant in the paint it will still make things difficult on opposing defenses.

Outside of LeBron and Davis, the only other Lakers under contract are Kyle Kuzma, Mo Wagner, and Isaac Bonga. It will be a lot of work forming the rest of the roster, but the front office will have cap space this summer.

If Rob Pelinka and co. can add a star like Kemba Walker or Jimmy Butler, they can consider free agency a success as well. If they strike out with the big name free agents, there are still many solid role players that provide shooting like Patrick Beverly, Bojan Bogdanovic, or Seth Curry.

With the Warriors losing Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant for an extended amount of time, there is no clear cut No. 1 in the Western Conference. LeBron and AD could dominate in their first year together and help the Lakers contend for a title.