Anthony Davis was recently traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, three first round picks and pick swap rights. The AD trade rumors have been swirling ever since January, so it’s a little surreal to see a trade actually finalized. All in all, this trade is the biggest blockbuster in recent memory (and maybe ever), so I decided to take analyze the trade from both teams’ perspectives.
The trade:
Lakers get: Anthony Davis
Pelicans get: Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Lakers’ 4th pick in 2019 Draft, 2021 1st round pick (if pick lands outside of top 8 it becomes unprotected 2022 1st round pick), 1st round pick swap rights in 2023, 2024 1st round pick with the option to defer to 2025 1st round pick
Los Angeles Lakers grade: B
The Lakers have been known as Anthony Davis’s preferred destination for a long time, and hiring Rich Paul as his agent (the same agent who represents LeBron James) basically confirmed that. While the road to getting Davis was filled with leaked trade offers, locker room drama, and dysfunction in the front office, the Lakers got it done. Anthony Davis is a Laker and will probably be one for a while.
The Lakers needed to make this trade. LeBron is 34 years old, and while he is still an incredible player, his time is limited. Trading for Davis was the only real path to getting another superstar on the team. Most high-profile free agents seemed unlikely to join the Lakers because of all the uncertainty surrounding the team. While the Lakers likely won’t have enough money to add a max contract this summer (unless the trade is finalized on July 30 instead of July 6), they will have around $23.7 million (or $27.8 million if Davis waives his trade bonus) to spend and fill out their roster. Additionally, Davis has been vocal about his desire to play for the Lakers long-term and will likely sign an extension next summer.
A core of Davis, LeBron, and Kuzma makes the Lakers an immediate championship contender. LA definitely has a chance to win the West, especially with the Warriors future uncertain because of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson’s injuries and free agency statuses. Overall, this trade gives the Lakers a chance to immidiately restore the franchise to their winning ways while giving them a superstar to possibly carry on the torch after LeBron retires.
However, acquiring Davis came at a big price. I think this is the most amount of assets traded for an individual player we’ve ever seen in history. With one trade, LA ended the youth movement and dove into full win-now mode. The Lakers basically gave up their draft control for five straight years (2021-2025), along with the 4th pick in this year’s draft. We’ve already seen a traded star fail in LA (shoutout to Dwight Howard), and if the Davis situation comes anything close to that, the Lakers are in big trouble. Even though Davis is likely to re-sign, you never know what can happen. If for any reason the Lakers aren’t successful next season (injuries, chemistry issues, etc.) and Davis leaves, the Lakers will be left with a 35 year-old LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, and nothing else with no fail-safe options. The Lakers gambled their future and went all in. If they win a championship then the trade will be worth it, but they are taking a huge risk.
The Lakers got a mini-win by keeping Kyle Kuzma, but I think they could have gotten away with offering less. I mean, there were no other teams that would have come close to offering what LA did. The Knicks (the other team who AD desired to stay with long-term) weren’t close to finalizing a deal. They never even officially offered New Orleans a trade offer. The Celtics (the third team heavily connected to AD), had backed off because of their doubts that Kyrie Irving would resign and that AD would stay long-term. The Celtics weren’t even offering Jayson Tatum. And no other team would have offered much for AD when he could leave in free agency after one season. Rich Paul stating that AD would only sign long-term with the Lakers or Knicks put LA in perfect position to make a deal, but I think the front office in LA could have ensured their future more than they did. If LA refused to offer just one or two of the picks they did, I don’t think a better trade would have presented itself, and the deal still would have gone through. In that scenario, the Lakers would still have some picks to lean on in case things go bad. To be blunt, I think the Lakers offered too much considering the circumstances. We’ll see what happens, but this trade could either go very right or horribly wrong for the Lakers.
New Orleans Pelicans grade: A
David Griffin is either a genius or very lucky, or maybe a little bit of both. After inheriting a less than desirable situation with the Pelicans, Griffin has completely turned New Orleans’s future around in just a couple months. First Griffin lucked into the first pick in the Draft with only a six percent chance of doing so. Keep in mind that Griffin has won the lottery four out of the last five times he’s been in it (2011, 2013, 2014, and this year). He’s a pretty solid good-luck charm. The first pick will likely be Zion Williamson, the most hyped up prospect we’ve seen since LeBron James, and he could change a franchise all by himself if he lives up to the hype.
But Griffin’s recent trade ensures the Pelican’s future for many years to come. With control of the Lakers 1st round selection for five straight years (including protections and pick swaps), the Pelican’s will consistently have young talent to fill out their roster with even after their rebuilding process is over. The last pick they have control of in 2025 conveniently comes when LeBron is 40 years old. If things go wrong in LA, these picks could actually be pretty high in the draft order. The many protections and swap rights gives New Orleans a lot of flexibility to try and get the best results possible.
Along with future picks, the Lakers immediately filled out their roster with promising young players. Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram were both #2 picks in the Draft and are each only 21 years old. If the player development system in New Orleans can unlock their full potential, both of these players could become All Stars. The only concern I have with Ball and Ingram is injury risk, as both have struggled in that aspect this past year. Nonetheless, Ball is already an elite defensive guard with great court vision and size at his position, and Ingram is a lanky forward who is coming off his best season yet, averaging 18.3 points per-game.
The last piece of this trade is the fourth pick in this year’s Draft. New Orleans has two options with this pick: they can select a young player like Jarrett Culver or De’Andre Hunter, or they can trade the pick for an All-Star caliber player like Zach LaVine or Bradley Beal. Either way, it’s a win for New Orleans.
Pelicans fans should be very happy. Jayson Tatum was not being offered by Boston, and no other teams were looking to unload their future for a potential one year rental of AD, so the Lakers deal is the best offer the Pelican’s were ever going to get. It’s actually a better offer than I thought New Orleans was ever going to get. With a core of Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Jrue Holiday, the fourth pick, and a plethora of future draft picks with various protections and swaps, the Pelicans are in an enviable position to both compete right away and develop for the future. What. A. Trade.