LeBron James and Anthony Davis were considered the best duo in basketball when they won the 2020 championship together with the Los Angeles Lakers. After all, LeBron James was the best point forward in basketball that year, and Anthony Davis was a versatile big man that could protect the rim while scoring on all three levels.
However, since that 2020 championship win, LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been disappointing as a duo. They lost in the first round of the 2021 playoffs while not making the playoffs at all in 2022.
A recent report from Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report shared the words of an NBA executive who seems to believe that LeBron James and Anthony Davis are in decline. He claimed that LeBron James does not “look like a main option right now,” saying the same about Anthony Davis.
But here’s the bad news: They are now 2-7 after a 114-100 loss at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday afternoon, and 37-year-old LeBron James is playing some of the worst basketball of his career.
“LeBron doesn’t even look like a main option right now,” one executive said of the Lakers. “Neither does [Anthony Davis].”
The Lakers may be just as bad as last year’s 33-win squad, quite possibly worse. While calls for a season-saving trade come from virtually all over, new questions are beginning to bubble up: What if Laker superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are finally declining in a meaningful way?
There is no doubt that the performances of both LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been concerning thus far. LeBron James has been the second-worst 3PT shooter in the NBA, while Anthony Davis has struggled to play at the level he showed during the 2020 championship run.
Anthony Davis Could Get Traded In The Future
There is no doubt that the Los Angeles Lakers’ current roster isn’t good enough to win a championship, and they might not even be good enough to make the playoffs. The Lakers are likely exploring their options on the trade market, and Bill Simmons has even suggested that Anthony Davis is a player that could be up for trade.
“The Lakers lost again. There’s some buzz, just some buzzing that AD might be available. That is a Plan B because the Westbrook trade, or what they can get for Westbrook, whether you want to give future assets, maybe that doesn’t even make sense for the Lakers. You’ve got Davis here, who hasn’t looked the same in a couple of years. Certainly, not close to bubble Davis, that’s the last time we saw vintage, 2018 Pelicans’ level Davis. This year he’s on the books for 37.9, next year 40.6, player option in 2025, 43.2. I don’t know what the endgame for this Lakers team is, but the Pelicans have their pick. I don’t think whatever they have, is not really fixable to make them a playoff team.”
Obviously, parting with a player like Anthony Davis would be tough for the Lakers. However, if they feel as though their title window is over, then a move could potentially be justified.
It remains to be seen what course of action the Los Angeles Lakers end up taking when it comes to their roster. They definitely need to switch some things up, and we’ll see what happens in the future.
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