New Orleans Pelicans: One Year Later, Would the Lakers Still Do the Davis Trade?
A year ago the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans made one of the biggest trades of the decade, but would the Lakers do it again?
The New Orleans Pelicans have one of the youngest, most exciting and talented teams in the NBA and few fans in the Big Easy would want to change anything.
Do Lakers’ fans feel the same?
One year ago today, the Lakers finalized a trade for Anthony Davis, adding the superstar that LeBron James needed to potentially get the Lakers back to a title.
light. Related Story. The Pelicans won the Anthony Davis Trade
The Pelicans reaped the rewards, getting Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart along with pretty much all of the Lakers’ future draft picks.
It was largely heralded as a win for both teams, with LA landing another top five player in the NBA and the Pelicans getting a ton of young talent to build around.
The Lakers currently have the second best record in the NBA and are a favorite to win the title when the season re-starts in July and the Pelicans are one of the top up-and-coming teams in the league, with a legitimate shot at a playoff run of their own.
The trade has obviously worked out for the Pelicans, who had no realistic chance of re-signing Davis and weren’t really going anywhere with him anyway.
You’d be hard pressed to find a Pelicans’ fan who would clamor for AD’s return, as he never really endeared himself to the fans the way Lonzo, BI and Zion Williamson already have.
But what about the Lakers’ fans? There were plenty of fans in L.A. who liked what the Lakers were building with Lonzo and Ingram and weren’t that happy when they jettisoned all of their young talent for a few years of LeBron and Davis.
The trade is done now, but knowing what they know now, would the Lakers do it again?