The Los Angeles Lakers were supposed to be one of the teams in a position to win it all at this time of the year before the season started. A large part of the faith that was placed in them was thanks to the proven tandem of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the duo has already won a title together in 2020.
However, that’s not how things have worked out this season, with the Lakers, struggling to even make it into the playoffs in the Western Conference. Anthony Davis’s consistent injury woes have meant that the other flaws in the roster have been exposed and despite LeBron James playing some of the best basketball of his career, the Lakers have remained firmly rooted in the play-in spots.
Russell Westbrook will likely be moved on at the end of the season, and even LeBron James has strongly hinted that he will leave when his son Bronny is drafted into the league in a couple of years. Thanks to all this uncertainty, there have been rumors that the Lakers might decide to blow it all up and even trade Anthony Davis in the offseason.
Even though there are some interesting possibilities for the team should the Lakers decide to blow it up, according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, there’s almost no way that happens this year, and he said as much in conversation with Marc Stein.
“I don’t think they will (trade him) at all, from what I’ve been told and the fact that what they gave up to New Orleans to get him… I mean the Lakers went all-in on pairing Anthony Davis with the Bron for as long as that pairing could stand and I’d be shocked if it came to a close this offseason.”
Davis has played a total of 73 games in almost 2 full seasons since the Lakers won it all in 2020, and his unavailability has been a massive concern for the franchise. Worse roster decisions before the start of this season have only compounded the misery but trading AD would essentially be a commitment to a total rebuild, something that’s likely to lead to even more years without success.
The Lakers find themselves in an interesting situation but letting go of Davis would be a huge decision for the organization as it will completely change what the future of the team for the next 7-8 years would look like. While it seems quite unlikely, one can never be too sure of anything in the NBA.
