Anthony Davis is, unfortunately, sidelined again after suffering a sprained ankle during Los Angeles Lakers-Utah Jazz game on Wednesday night. The big man went up for a rebound and when he landed, his ankle rolled pretty bad, leaving the player screaming in pain.
Ever since he won the 2020 NBA championship in the infamous Orlando bubble, Davis’ body has betrayed him. He’s been unable to play a full season again and this one, things have gotten out of control. He just came back from injury a couple of weeks ago and will be out for at least two more.
Meanwhile, people are debating if AD should be traded again and start fresh on a different team. Seeing how bad his tenure with the Lakers has turned out since he won that championship, the idea of AD leaving Crypto.com Arena has been floating in recent times.
Jay Williams, Max Kellerman and Keyshawn Johnson had NBA analyst Frank Isola on their KJM show, discussing the current moment of AD, what could happen in his future and what teams could be interested in him. Reacting to Stephen A. Smith’s statements saying that the Lakers should trade Davis, Isola said:
“I do think there’ll be a market for Anthony Davis, but the only thing about Anthony Davis, how much you gonna give up for a guy who clearly, I think is a No. 2 guy. As a No. 1 guy in New Orleans, I think they only got out the first round one time.”
Jay Williams asked Isola if he thought the Boston Celtics could be a landing place for Davis given all the rumors surrounding Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but he turned down that idea.
“I think if you get the right point guard to that team, they’re young enough and I still think they could be successful together and make it work. Look at the way they’ve played the last two or three weeks. Look what they did last night at Philadelphia, they ate them up, so I’m never that crazy about breaking up a tandem that young. To me, they need a point guard. Imagine Chris Paul on that team, with those two guys, the kind of leadership he would bring, and how much he would help them along. To me, I can make that work in Boston, I just have to find someone else to play with those two.”
Moreover, Isola said that a team like the Miami Heat could be a landing spot for Davis since they have the assets to make a trade with the Lakers.
“You start looking at teams where guys, you know a team like Miami which has players, and they have a way of doing things down there. If they ever had a guy like Anthony Davis, somehow, Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, and the rest of that group down there would make it work.”
“I can definitely see them moving on from Anthony Davis, but the key is gonna be you better get something back in the terms of players and draft picks. I don’t know where that would be right now. I would think something in the Eastern Conference where you have young players.”
Max Kellerman asked if Davis is still as important to bring the Lakers a guy like Jayson Tatum, and Isola said yes, as a healthy AD is a menace for the rest of the league. Let’s not forget this man was a top 10 player in the NBA not so long ago, and it’s not like he’s 35 or something.
If Davis gets over all these injuries and stays healthy for a long time, he could be a top player in the league again. We need to wait and see if his body will respond after all the injuries.
