Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on Anthony Davis After Hiring Klutch Sports Agent

Anthony Davis wants to be a Laker.

Or, at least, that's the thinking of one NBA general manager.

An Eastern Conference exec spoke to Mark Heisler of the Orange County Register and said Davis' move to Klutch Sports is a long-term move aimed at getting him to Los Angeles.

"Why else did he do it?" the general manager said. "Things are going great for him. The team is going good. He got the Derrick Rose extension.

"It's not because of race. Thad Foucher is an Afro-American. It's not because of agency. Thad Foucher is from the Wasserman Group and has Russell Westbrook. So why did he do it?"

Davis can become an unrestricted free agent in 2020. He fired Foucher in September and signed with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, who is LeBron James' agent and good friend.

Paul has become one of the NBA's pre-eminent power brokers, boasting John Wall, Ben Simmons and Eric Bledsoe as clients, along with James and Davis.

"It was for who I am right now in my career and what I'm trying to do," Davis told reporters in September. "I thought the change was necessary. That's all it was. Just trying to be the most dominant player in the league. I think making that change to Klutch will help me do so."

The Lakers adding Davis could be complicated. They're expected to be major players this summer in free agency and will likely tie up the maximum salary space they could give to Davis in 2020. That means a trade is probably the best route to get this done. 

The Pelicans are understandably in no hurry to get rid of Davis. They have the NBA's highest-scoring offense, and Davis is a foundational superstar. There's no chance they'll trade him barring a formal demand, and even then it might not be to Los Angeles. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George found out the hard way you can force a trade but not a locale.

But if the Pelicans falter the remainder of the season, there may be real pressure to make a move. It wouldn't be a surprise to see them try to dump off Solomon Hill and E'Twaun Moore into a bad team's cap space in hopes of landing a good wing player next summer. Nikola Mirotic is a free agent this summer, but the Pels could time things right so his cap hold stays relatively low.