Lonzo Ball saw his lifelong dream come true when the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the second pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. Just two years later, though, Ball was traded as part of the package for Anthony Davis. While some might have been offended by that, the 26-year-old hilariously revealed on The WAE Show that he wasn’t.
“That’s the first time that I realized this is definitely a business,” Ball said of the trade. “But at the same time, it was like it’s Anthony Davis… A part of me was like I mean, to be fair, I would have traded myself for Anthony Davis.”
(starts at 0:35 mark):
Lonzo Ball didn't feel any particular way after the Lakers traded him
“I would have traded myself for Anthony Davis.” 😅
(🎥 @TheWAEShow ) pic.twitter.com/59DAMnukqq
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 9, 2024
It’s good to see that Ball is so self-aware, especially when you consider the kind of character his father LaVar Ball is. LaVar wouldn’t have been fine with his son being traded for Michael Jordan, let alone Davis.
The Lakers sent Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans for Davis in 2019. At the time, it was thought that they gave up a bit too much, but looking back at the deal now, they clearly won the trade.
While Davis has disappointed during various stretches of his time with the Lakers, he did help them win the championship in 2020. That alone makes the trade a success for LA.
Davis was also excellent for the Lakers this past season, after having a couple of mediocre campaigns, as he averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game. The 31-year-old made the All-NBA Second Team and the NBA All-Defensive First Team as well.
Davis has now re-established himself as one of the premier big men in the league. Provided he stays relatively healthy, the nine-time All-Star should continue to dominate on the court in the coming years too.
For the Pelicans, meanwhile, I think this ended up being quite a terrible trade. None of Ball, Ingram, or Hart turned into superstars and those draft picks didn’t amount to much either.
The Pelicans let Ball go in 2021 in a sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls and didn’t get much in return. Hart, meanwhile, was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2022 as part of the package that got them CJ McCollum.
As for Ingram, he was viewed as the one with the highest potential of the trio and while he made the All-Star team in 2020, he hasn’t quite taken the step that many expected him to. The Pelicans are also reportedly looking to trade Ingram and if that happens, then all three players would have been gone, just five years after the trade.
As for the picks, the first of the three was the fourth pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. The Pelicans traded it for the eighth, 17th, and 35th pick of that same draft. Jaxson Hayes was drafted with the eighth pick and he’s funnily enough now on the Lakers. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Didi Louzada were selected with the others and both went to the Trail Blazers in that deal for McCollum.
The second of the three picks was the eighth one in the 2022 NBA Draft. Dyson Daniels was the player drafted with it and he too has been traded. Daniels didn’t exactly make waves in his first two seasons in the NBA and was sent to the Atlanta Hawks as part of the package for Dejounte Murray.
The last of those picks has been deferred by the Pelicans to 2025. If they manage to land a star with it, then I’d say both parties won that Davis trade, or else New Orleans is the clear loser.
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