When you have the kind of season that the Los Angeles Lakers had in 2021-22, changes are inevitable. Considering all the expectations coming into last season, the Lakers ended up being a total disaster as they won just 33 games and failed to even make it to the play-in tournament.
As is always the case when you have a failure of such epic proportions, some scapegoats end up getting the boot, and the first to go was head coach Frank Vogel. Vogel won them the title in 2020, but that wasn’t enough to save his job, and for the longest time, it seemed like Russell Westbrook would be the other big exit from the team, but nothing has materialized on that front just yet.
NBA Writer Suggests That The Los Angeles Lakers Should Trade Anthony Davis
The reason why Westbrook is still on the Lakers is that the team hasn’t gotten any offers that they like for him, and it looks like he might just end up staying for the season. So, considering that a shakeup of sorts is needed for the roster, Alex Kirschenbaum suggested that they should trade Anthony Davis to the Warriors in return for Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody.
via FanNation:
“Now that Wiggins has become the kind of complimentary two-way player everyone hoped he would be, and given the exciting ceilings of the two young Warriors wings, the deal could help build out L.A.’s bench depth.”
Wiggins’ emergence in this past postseason as a premier two-way player has made him a very valuable asset, and with him entering the final year of his contract, the Warriors might be willing to part with him, as they can’t extend all of their big guns at this point. Parting with Kuminga and Moody would not be something they would be keen on, though, but Davis would certainly make them clear-cut favorites for the championship for the next few years at least.
As for the Lakers, this move would get them some building blocks for the future but considering they just traded for Patrick Beverley, it is clear that the team is in win-now mode. While Wiggins will help with that, the other two won’t, and he alone wouldn’t be enough for this upcoming season if they part with Davis. Considering LeBron James only has so much time left at the top, they need to make moves that maximize their chances of winning right away, so this trade won’t be something they would be too keen on.
