For many pundits and observers familiar with the inner workings of the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers have a strong chance of successfully trading for New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis at some point before the 2019-20 NBA season. However, Bleacher Report recently suggested there could also be one key reason why the Pelicans might not want to do business with the Lakers — pressure from the public to prevent Los Angeles from assembling a “super-team” in the event they get a commitment from a top-tier free agent.
On Saturday, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus covered the current situation with Davis, whom the Pelicans might have to trade at some point in the future in order to ensure they don’t lose one of the league’s best big men in the 2020 free agency season without getting anything in return. While New Orleans management has maintained they have no plans of trading Davis, numerous trade rumors have swirled around him for the past several months. These include claims that he and Lakers superstar LeBron James met for dinner after their respective teams played each other at the Staples Center on Friday, as noted in a previous report from the Inquisitr.
Talking about the Los Angeles Lakers’ chances of trading for Anthony Davis, Pincus wrote that the team could make a good offer by compensating him for any possible waiver of the 15 percent trade bonus in his contract and being able to extend him at least through the 2021-22 NBA season. He added that there’s a chance the Lakers might also end up signing Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, or any one of the other top players expected to enter free agency next summer, though this could make it difficult for Los Angeles to come up with enough cap space to make a plausible deal for Davis and restructure his contract.
After LeBron James publicly endorses trade for Anthony Davis, small market GM’s privately seething over NBA’s unwillingness to enforce tampering rules. One GM: “It’s open season on small markets and our players.” Story on ESPN: https://t.co/xnqAQas59i
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 21, 2018
While Pincus wrote that the Lakers could theoretically bundle several players, including young stars Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, in order to trade for Davis and have enough cap space for a top free agent in the 2019 offseason, he stressed that a commitment from a superstar free agent might cause concern among NBA fans who don’t want to see another super-team in the making.
“If Los Angeles had a commitment from Durant, Thompson or Leonard, the Pelicans would face massive public pressure to not trade Davis to the Lakers,” Pincus warned.
“The outcry might be enough to sway the Pelicans in a completely different direction.”
Regardless of what happens in the months to follow, Bleacher Report’s Pincus summed up his assessment of the situation by stressing Anthony Davis has more than a few options that could justify a possible decision to refuse a big-money deal from the New Orleans Pelicans. Aside from the Lakers and Celtics, there could be other teams vying for the multiple-time All-Star’s services, though Pincus predicted that Davis’ trade bonus clause might complicate things for these dark horse contenders.