Lakers Rumors: Examining Trade Whispers Surrounding Los Angeles
Despite the previous week leading up to Super Bowl LIII, the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA dominated sports news as the NBA trade deadline of Feb. 7 at 3 p.m. ET approached.
L.A. is looking to make big moves for another All-Star to play alongside LeBron James, which has created some turmoil on the team as no one (excepting James) seems to be safe in the pursuit to acquire another big name.
The tension that the trade deadline has created has put head coach Luke Walton in a difficult position, with veteran players on the team unhappy with him at the moment:
The Lakers have completely dominated the trade rumors in the past few weeks, which bodes well for them as the deadline looms. Let’s take a look at some of the chatter surrounding the team.
Anthony Davis to the Lakers
L.A. has been aggressively pursuing New Orleans Pelicans All-Star forward Anthony Davis for the last few weeks, which has been all that any NBA fan has been talking about.
In a Davis trade, James is really the only Laker who is safe, putting the rest of the team on edge and playing into the tension rising on the squad as the trade deadline approaches.
Leading up to Jan. 31, the Pelicans had been slow to get back to the Lakers about a potential deal involving Davis. Lakers President Magic Johnson finally spoke to Pelicans general manager Dell Demps for the first time Thursday after Demps had taken calls from other teams about acquiring Davis, sources told ESPN.
The Lakers reportedly made an offer that includes point guards Lonzo Ball and Rajon Rondo, forwards Kyle Kuzma and Michael Beasley and a first-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium added that sources said the Lakers have not placed all their assets on the table in pursuit of Davis, with one source describing the offer as a “lowball”:
According to Charania, sources told The Athletic’s Pelicans reporter, Will Guillory, that the player not discussed in trades for Davis is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
The Los Angeles Times reported the Lakers sent five offers to the Pelicans last Wednesday, which included one containing Ball, Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac and a first-round pick. This is the team’s almost entire young core and would leave it with less depth than it already has.
The Lakers struggled to win games while James was recovering from a strained groin. While a James-Davis team would be remarkable, another absence from James would leave the Lakers in a tough spot if they had none of their young players.
While the Pelicans have yet to seriously discuss the offers the Lakers made, those conversations are expected to happen this week, according to the L.A. Times. The Pelicans' counteroffer could potentially require two first-round picks and add another New Orleans player to the deal.
Despite nothing being announced yet, fans are still hopeful Davis will be moved to the Lakers before the deadline.
All Other Trade Rumors
In other news, the Lakers were also engaged in talks with the Phoenix Suns about acquiring forward Trevor Ariza back in December, league sources told ESPN.
The teams had been working to reach an agreement that would involve a third team acquiring Caldwell-Pope. That trade didn’t work out, though, and Ariza joined the Wizards instead.
However, the Lakers do still need some more depth on the wings and beyond the arc, with James leading the squad with an average of two three-pointers made in each game and shooting 35 percent from the three-point line.
The Athletic’s Bill Oram reported the team has a few shooters on its radar: "A team source said the Lakers will pursue any three-point shooter on an expiring deal, a group expected to include former Laker Wayne Ellington, Orlando's Terrence Ross, Memphis' Garrett Temple and Trevor Ariza, who many believe could be on the move again before the deadline if Washington continues to falter in the East."
All statistics courtesy of ESPN.
