New Orleans Pelicans: One Year Later, Would the Lakers Still Do the Davis Trade?

New Orleans Pelicans: The Case Against the Anthony Davis Trade

If the Lakers knew a year ago what they know now, would they still do the Davis trade? Probably, but there is a strong case against it.

With the coronavirus forcing cancellation of games, this will always be a season with an asterisk for some regardless of who wins the title.

In a sense it is a lost season, though the Lakers will still be happy if they win the championship.

In addition, Lonzo, Ingram and Hart have all made big strides this season, which has to make Lakers’ fans wonder if they would have been better off keeping the trio.

Ball has evolved into one of the best two-way point guards in the NBA and Brandon Ingram is playing like a young Durant, averaging 24.3 points per game and making the All-Star team at just 22-years-old.

Hart is a valuable role player and all three are young, something the Lakers sorely lack.

Sure, the Lakers might win a title this season, and maybe next, and if they do, this trade will have been worth it, but what if they don’t?

Anything short of  one or two titles in L.A. would be an abject failure, especially when the Lakers will have no young players or draft picks to build around once LeBron is gone.

The Lakers might have been nearly as good this season if they had just kept the team together, though LeBron made it clear he wanted to be paired with a superstar veteran and would not be wasting any time with young players.

Nothing is certain in the NBA. The Lakers may not end up winning a title at all, and now that the Pelicans have Zion, they have the potential to be a contender for the next decade.

It’s a classic scenario of known talent vs. potential, of long-term success vs. short-term rewards.

The Pelicans are happy either way, but the Lakers may look back on the Davis trade as a big mistake in a few years, especially if the Pelicans make the playoffs and give them trouble in the first round.