Anthony Davis Trade Rumors: Lakers' Reported Offer May Not Have Been True

ESPN.com's Jackie MacMullan reported on ESPN's The Jump on Friday that the Los Angeles Lakers' reported offers for New Orleans Pelicans All-Star center Anthony Davis may not have been true.

"My sources have told me in the last 48 hours that what we heard the Lakers offered may not be true," MacMullan said. "So I think there's some questions now about how much did they offer, really? Did they even get a chance to offer anything?"

The discussion begins around the 5:20 mark below:

MacMullan did not specify which reported offer may have been false. Many of them occurred in the days between Davis' trade request Jan. 28 and Feb. 5, when the Lakers reportedly ended trade talks per the Los Angeles Times.

It seemed like everyone not named LeBron James was on the trading block for the Lakers in early February. Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported that the Purple and Gold were willing to trade six players and two first-rounders for Davis and Solomon Hill.

Regardless of what the Lakers did or didn't offer, team president Magic Johnson was not pleased with how negotiations played out. Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com, Johnson said "no" when asked if the Pelicans operated in good faith during talks.

Davis is a free agent in 2020, but it's a near guarantee he'll be in another team's uniform before next season.

The Lakers will have another shot at pulling off a deal with the Pels, albeit with a different general manager. Dell Demps, who was the Pelicans GM since 2010, was relieved of his duties in February.

Los Angeles figures to have a lot of competition for the 25-year-old Davis, who is a six-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA team member. As The Jump panel noted, the Boston Celtics should be right in the mix given their collection of young players and first-round picks.

The longer-term question is whether the team that ultimately lands the superstar can convince him to stay beyond 2020 on a long-term deal.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Feb. 4 that Davis would sign long-term with the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers or Lakers.

Davis told the NBA TV panel on All-Star media day that "all 29 teams" outside the Pels are on his list.

Really, the amount of ways this can play out seem endless. The Celtics could win the trading sweepstakes but lose Davis to another team in 2020, perhaps one on Charania's list. Or the Lakers can finally land Davis after their reported offers and ink him to a long-term deal. And so on and so forth.

Despite what happens, don't expect the Davis talk to end anytime soon.