Heading into the season, most people picked the Los Angeles Lakers to come out of the Western Conference. But as the playoffs near closer, the Lakers find themselves struggling to even make the play-in.
Russell Westbrook’s fit within the team has certainly been a primary issue, as has the complete lack of reliable depth. And despite LeBron James going nuclear on a nightly basis, the Lakers still can’t figure things out.
It’s highly likely that Westbrook ends up getting moved this offseason, but what if he’s not the only superstar on the Lakers that gets traded this summer?
NBA Rumors: Lakers could discuss Anthony Davis trades this offseason
ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst said that “he thinks” that Anthony Davis deals could be “discussed” this summer. Windhorst made the statement on ESPN’s Get Up on Tuesday. (H/T Bleacher Report)
He went on to talk about how much James loves living in Los Angeles and will likely remain there moving forward. However, as far as Davis goes, Windhorst doesn’t think a trade is off the table.
Davis has only played in half of the Lakers’ games this year, appearing in 34 of their 74 contests. In the games Davis played in, Los Angeles went 17-20, but more importantly, they went 11-10 when both he and James were in the lineup.
In the 34 games he did play, Davis averaged 23.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while shooting 53.7 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from behind the three-point line.
His injury issues and down shooting year both had a massive impact on the Lakers’ success, or lack thereof. At 29 years old, Davis is in his prime, but with how short James’ championship window is, maybe the Lakers could retool by trading Davis.
It sounds crazy to say out loud, but a ton of teams around the league would be more than willing to pay a premium for Davis’ services. At this point, it all depends on one thing – what does King James want?