Nick Wright clearly believes the Los Angeles Lakers should pull out all the stops to acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Davis’ agent, Rich Paul, informed the Pelicans that his client won’t sign a contract extension and has requested a trade. The Lakers are the favorites to land Davis, according to Bovada, and Wright has an idea for what Los Angeles should offer New Orleans to complete a blockbuster deal.
Here’s what the FS1 “First Things First” talking head tweeted Monday morning:
LeBron, Rondo, Hart, AD & Javale start.
Bench of Chandler, KCP, Beasley & Svi.With buyout guys & possibly Melo (gulp) coming later.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) January 28, 2019
If the Lakers do get Anthony Davis, getting him to waive his 15% trade kicker could be the difference between having a max slot open & not having one.
2019 salaries of LeBron + AD + Deng's 5M buyout figure = 70M, and that's without the kicker or any other contracts.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) January 28, 2019
So, in this scenario, the Lakers would trade Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, Lance Stephenson and two unprotected first-round draft picks for Davis. That’s a huge haul, obviously, but it’s not an irrational package given Davis’ status as a generational talent.
Broderick Turner and Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reported Monday, citing sources unauthorized to speak publicly on the deal, that any potential Lakers trade for Davis would have to start with Ball, Kuzma, Zubac and a first-round pick. Wright’s proposal trumps that reported starting point in a big way by including Ingram — arguably the best player of the group — and an additional first-round pick.
Of course, the Pelicans don’t have to make a deal before the Feb. 7 NBA trade deadline. They could wait until the offseason, at which point other teams, including the Boston Celtics, might become more active in trade discussions, thus maximizing New Orleans’ return. (The Celtics can’t trade for Davis until Kyrie Irving becomes a free agent July 1 and signs a new deal, per NBA rules.)
The Lakers are the obvious front-runners for Davis, though, especially when you consider LeBron James, who signed with Los Angeles this past offseason, also is represented by Paul.
Davis, who is eligible to sign a five-year, $240 million supermax contract extension with New Orleans this offseason, can become a free agent in the summer of 2020.
