The Los Angeles Lakers are hovering around the middle of the Western Conference playoff race at 23-18, but are the Lakers actual contenders?
It’s hard to bet against any team featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but then again, this isn’t the LeBron and AD that won an NBA championship in 2020.
James is over 40 years old, a fact that can’t be ignored by Los Angeles as it seeks to build a roster capable of competing in the West playoffs.
With LeBron and AD recently insinuating that the Lakers need to acquire more talent before the trade deadline, here’s a different idea: What if the Lakers, rather than continuing to force contention status that isn’t there, decided to blow the whole thing up by trading Davis?
It’s a controversial proposal, no doubt, but one that could land the Lakers a handful of first-round draft picks that would be valuable in the post-LeBron era, which is fast arriving.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons recently discussed a possible AD-to-Orlando Magic deal that would net the Lakers as many as six future draft picks, including four unprotected first-rounders.
The Trade
Magic receive…
– Anthony Davis
Lakers receive…
– Jonathan Isaac
– Cole Anthony
– Jett Howard
– 2025 first-rounder
– 2027 first-rounder
– 2029 first-rounder
– 2031 first-rounder
“So you’d have to (include) four unprotected firsts (2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031), probably throw in the Denver first that you have that rolls over, and then maybe a swap,” Simmons said on the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“You’d have a starting frontline of AD, Paolo (Banchero), and Franz (Wagner). The timeline is … now … when all those guys come back. … I don’t wanna see that team in a playoff series. The timeline is this year to do that.”
It’s a move that the Magic would have to at least consider if it had any chance of coming to fruition, even if Orlando was understandably hesitant about giving up virtually all of its future draft capital for an injury-prone, 31-year-old Davis.
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