Getty Image / Matthew Stockman
When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Anthony Davis 4 years ago, the move was expected to make them a real contender again after struggling for a few years.
The move wasn’t cheap as they had to send Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart to the Pelicans along with 3 first rounders, but it had the desired impact at first.
In Davis’ first season playing alongside LeBron James, the Lakers brought home a title in the bubble.
The team’s results have varied since.
Davis missed half of each of the following two seasons and the team struggled. They were eliminated in round 1 of the playoffs two years ago and missed the playoffs last year.
During the most recent season, Davis was able to play in 56 regular season games and had a big impact for the Lakers during the playoffs as they made a run to the Western Conference Finals.
Unfortunately, it seems that may not be enough for LeBron to still want him around.
On yesterday’s episode of “The Zach Gelb Show”, NBA insider Bill Reiter reported that LeBron is over AD and the star big man could be traded this offseason.
.@sportsreiter has heard LeBron James is frustrated and is over Anthony Davis.
Full Zach Gelb Show on @CBSSportsRadio with Bill Reiter here: https://t.co/h84M7WlMuj pic.twitter.com/ZJ12eTfDRg
— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) June 21, 2023
“There is a power struggle going on between LeBron and GM Rob Pelinka… I think LeBron is over AD, and there’s a non-zero chance he could get dealt this offseason,” Reiter said.
It wouldn’t be shocking for LeBron James to want to move on from Davis. Even with as well as Davis played in the playoffs, he still lacked consistency in his performances. There is also still the very real concern of his injury history.
However, there is one big issue with the idea of Davis being traded.
Who exactly could the Lakers bring in that would be better?
Trading Davis would free up cap space, but the franchise would still be pretty low on assets to trade for another star.
The team definitely needs to make some changes this offseason if they’re going to find a way to get past teams like the Nuggets and Suns, but moving Anthony Davis doesn’t seem to be a move that would get them moving in the right direction.