LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 27: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers plays defense against Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans on February 27, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)
The New Orleans Pelicans may have traded Anthony Davis, but they can (and will) block the Los Angeles Lakers from adding a third superstar.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Rich Paul got what they wanted. They got Anthony Davis on the same team as LeBron James, but they had to sell the farm in order for this to happen. The Lakers gave up the rights to Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks in order to land “The Unibrow” in LaLa Land.
The trade can’t become official until July 6, and the problem with that timing for the Lakers is they wouldn’t have enough cap space to sign another megastar.
However, if the teams agree to make the trade at the end of July, then they would have room to add another player like Kyrie Irving or Kemba Walker.
Basically, this requires the Pelicans to do the Lakers a favor, and it’s hard to imagine a world in which that happens after Paul basically imploded New Orleans basketball last year by convincing Davis to make a trade demand.
Additionally, if they make the move earlier rather than later, then the Pelicans can use the No. 4 overall selection as trade bait to sign a veteran or stockpile future draft picks.
NBA mega-insider Adrian Wojnarowski says that New Orleans won’t help the Lakers any more this summer.
The one bright side of this is that they didn’t give up Kyle Kuzma in the exchange, but they are still in need of a quality point guard and wing player to fill out their rotation. They could also use some shooters, which was one of the many reasons why last year was such a disaster.
The Lakers will have to do a much better job in free agency than last summer. That is for sure. They’ll just have to find a way to do it without adding another superstar.