Video: Lamar Odom Hopes Lakers Land Anthony Davis or Kyrie Irving for LeBron
May 9, 2019
Former NBA forward Lamar Odom, who won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, told TMZ Sports that he would like to see the Purple and Gold obtain New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis or Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving this offseason.
Odom cited Irving and James' history: The ex-Cleveland Cavaliers duo won three Eastern Conference titles and beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
As for Davis, Odom called him a "dominant player that makes any team extremely better." The six-time NBA All-Star and three-time All-NBA player averaged 25.9 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game last season.
Irving can opt out of his current deal and become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Davis has one more year left on his contract but has requested a trade.
It isn't out of the realm of possibility that the Lakers form a new Big Three and obtain both. In February, Marc Stein of the New York Times told Stephen A. Smith on ESPN Radio that "there are people who believe that is the grand Laker plan":
"There are some people around the league who watched the events of last week when Kyrie said what he said and have watched all month as Kyrie and LeBron have seemingly lobbed Valentine's back and forth to each other about how much they miss each other. Now, there is a sense that what if the Lakers could Anthony Davis AND Kyrie? And they're the ones who steal Kyrie Irving away from the Celtics and not the Knicks ... There are people who believe that is the grand Laker plan."
The Lakers struck out on obtaining Davis before the February 7 trade deadline, but there's this summer.
Perhaps the Lakers will try for both players or just one of them, but they still need a head coach. After talks with ex-Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue broke down, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that ex-NBA head coaches Lionel Hollins, Frank Vogel and Mike Woodson are now in the mix.