The Los Angeles Lakers’ dreams of constructing their own superteam might finally be taking form.
On Monday, Anthony Davis informed the New Orleans Pelicans he wouldn’t sign a long-term extension and requested a trade, with the Lakers reportedly being his preferred destination.
LA reportedly will push hard to complete a deal by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, and if the Purple and Gold are able to acquire the star forward it could also net them the final member of the new “Big Three.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who broke the news of Davis’ trade demand, went on “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt” on Monday night and revealed that Klay Thompson, who will be a free agent this summer, reportedly would have interest in going to LA if they acquire Davis.
“The best-case scenario for the Lakers is: they add Anthony Davis and then Golden State doesn’t offer Klay Thompson a max contract,” Wojnarowski said. “They try to get Klay to take a little bit less than the max and if that happens I’m told Klay’s attention will be on the Lakers if they have Anthony Davis.”
Now, there are a couple of big “ifs” there.
First of all, while the Lakers may indeed be Davis’ preferred destination there will be no shortage of teams trying to swing a deal with the Pelicans to acquire the 25-year-old. However, assuming the Lakers do land Davis, for a package that reportedly will include Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac and a first-round draft pick, as well as some other deal sweeteners, the Warriors still could offer Thompson the max contract to lock down the “Splash Brothers” and that would be that.
But if the Warriors do offer Thompson a max deal then giving Kevin Durant the lucrative offer he commands would send their payroll past the $300 million mark, something the Warriors can afford but might want to avoid. Asking either Thompson or Durant to take even a small pay cut could send the stars looking elsewhere with the Lakers being a prime option for Thompson.
If LeBron James and the Lakers are somehow able to acquire Davis and sign Thompson, the Purple and Gold once again would be atop the Western Conference while the Warriors’ dynasty would officially be over. But there are a lot of boxes to be checked before we reach that point.
