Man, the Raptors can’t even get a few days to celebrate a championship and hold a parade without the NBA undergoing a total makeover. After months of rumors, public posturing, and symbolic shirts, the Lakers have finally agreed to a trade that’ll bring Anthony Davis to Los Angeles to play with LeBron James. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday that Los Angeles will send a haul of young talent and draft picks to the Pelicans: Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart, plus multiple first-round picks. A league source told me Saturday that the picks going to New Orleans are the no. 4 selection in the 2019 draft, a protected first in 2021, and an unprotected first in 2024. The Pelicans will also have the right to swap firsts in 2023.
LeBron got his wish. So did Davis. And the Pelicans? They’ve suddenly gone from a hopelessly average team to the franchise with the league’s brightest future.
It’s odd that some people are acting like the Lakers gave up too much. Didn’t we just watch this team miss the playoffs? Didn’t people just spend months mocking LeBron and the Lakers for failing? Haven’t we spent months speculating about what move they’d make if they missed out on Davis? There was no alternative that would realistically lead to a championship, and it’s the front office’s responsibility to maximize their years with LeBron. With Klay Thompson out for most or all of the season, the Western Conference is as wide open as it’s been in five years. A starting lineup of LeBron, AD, Kyle Kuzma, Moe Wagner, and 59-year-old Magic Johnson would put the Lakers in contention. Did the Lakers give up a lot? Yes. Should they have made the deal? Duh, they just paired two of the NBA’s top 10 players and made themselves arguably the favorites to win the title.
The Lakers have a lot more work to do, of course. According to The New York Times’ Marc Stein, Kemba Walker will be their top free-agent target. (Don’t bank on Kyrie Irving reuniting with LeBron. League sources fully expect him to sign with the Brooklyn Nets.) Kemba would have to give up $80.7 million guaranteed, without factoring in taxes, to leave Charlotte for Los Angeles. Walker has two choices: He can re-sign with the Hornets for $221.3 million over five years and spend the next five years fighting for the 8-seed in the East, or he can sign with the Lakers for $140.6 million over four years and compete for championships.
To even have a shot at Walker—or any other pricey free agent—the Lakers will have to wait to officially complete this deal. If it were to go through before July 6, the Lakers wouldn’t be able to create the $32.7 million necessary to sign Walker or another max free agent, such as Kawhi Leonard, who league sources say the Lakers will pursue. It’s likely the AD deal will go down in the same way the Kevin Love–to–Cleveland trade occurred. Both swaps will have been orchestrated by David Griffin, who was in charge of Cleveland back then, and is currently the executive vice president of basketball operations for New Orleans. Back in 2014, the Cavs had to sign Andrew Wiggins to his rookie contract, then wait 30 days until he was eligible to be traded to meet NBA contract requirements to complete it. Odds are, this is precisely what’ll happen with the Lakers and Pelicans.
Davis will never have it easier on the court than he will when playing alongside LeBron. After years of dealing with double-teams in New Orleans, The Brow will see more single coverage on post-ups and isolations. Many of those one-on-one chances will come following a pick-and-roll with LeBron. Defenses will switch, and either Davis or LeBron could have a mismatch advantage. If Kemba is thrown into the equation, they’ll become even deadlier. Walker has developed a reputation as a ball-dominant star, but the truth is that he’s one of the league’s more dynamic shooters. He has shot an excellent 41.3 percent on spot-up 3s over the past four seasons, with many of those shots coming off screens and handoffs. Walker could space the floor for LeBron and AD, or create and feast on mismatches. That is, unless Kemba decides he’d rather stay in Charlotte while Bismack Biyombo and Nicolas Batum do nothing.
Can you tell I’m excited about a Walker-Davis-James trio? I’m excited about a Walker-Davis-James trio.
Davis is the latest in a rich line of Lakers big men, from Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal, and several more. Never mind that Davis is one of the NBA’s premier defenders; he’s like a sentry gun around the rim, using his limbs and eyebrow to swat shots and scare off opponents from testing him. Davis can switch against guards and wings. LeBron had a better defensive season than he gets credit for, considering his supporting cast, which lacked Lonzo (one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders) for a big chunk of the season. But having two good defenders isn’t enough for a team to have a great defense, just as having two or three stars isn’t enough to have a great offense. Teams need a supporting cast, and the Lakers still have work to do.
If the Lakers sign Kemba or a different star to a max contract using cap space, they’ll only have the room mid-level exception remaining, which is worth $4.76 million, and the league minimum. Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade haven’t filed for retirement just yet! Vince Carter, Jamal Crawford, Wesley Matthews, Jeff Green, and Joakim Noah are a few other veterans who come to mind as ring-chasing candidates. With the rest of their salary cap dedicated to LeBron, AD, a third star, and Kuzma, and the rights to all their picks belonging to the Pelicans, the Lakers will have to build through free agency. General manager Rob Pelinka needs to develop the roster, but from where he’s starting, they’re off to a good start.
If the Lakers are the present, the Pelicans are the future. Zion Williamson, who will almost certainly be drafted first at Thursday’s NBA draft, will be surrounded by young players who can play up-tempo. Lonzo-to-Zion lobs will make for nightly highlight reels. So will Zion-to-Lonzo lobs! Ingram will have more freedom than ever to push tempo in transition and create for others. All of their young guys play unselfish, good-to-great basketball too. Head coach Alvin Gentry dropped F-bombs after the Pelicans won the lottery, and he should be swearing some more while he dreams up exciting plays for this team to execute.
The Pelicans could be pretty good on defense too. They can all switch, Lonzo is already an excellent perimeter defender, and Ingram is good. Zion projects as an explosive shot-blocker for a rookie, and Jrue Holiday is an All-Defensive first-teamer. Despite losing a rim protector like Davis, New Orleans might get better on D, overall. That’s not saying much: They ranked 20th last season. Their big problem won’t be defense, it’ll be offensive spacing in the half court. Opponents won’t exactly be intimidated by a lineup featuring any of the aforementioned youngsters, or Holiday, or anyone they might re-sign, such as Julius Randle. But who cares?
The Pelicans should want to be a fun, young team that develops the youth and loses a lot of basketball games to get another high pick in 2020. Some of these young guys will be keepers. Some will be trade bait. What Griffin has gathered is a bunch of assets that’ll allow him to build the team that he wants over the next four or five years. Griff is essentially playing NBA 2K in real life. All that’s missing is the simulation button to move past the losing and into the winning years.
And this team could really, really win someday. They’ll likely be able to create cap space to sign a max free agent, and they’ll have incoming picks from the Lakers.
Remember, LeBron will be a 38-year-old free agent in 2022. Those picks could be incredibly valuable. Maybe Los Angeles will still be great after 2022, with a 29-year-old Davis and LeBron nearing 40. But who knows? This deal has shades of the 2013 Celtics-Nets blockbuster in that the Lakers are giving up nearly all their assets to build for a shot at the title. Davis is obviously better than old Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, but the flexibility that the Celtics were blessed with in recent years to pursue guys like Kevin Durant, or sign max free agents like Al Horford and Gordon Hayward, and trade for stars like Kyrie Irving, all happened as a result of that Nets trade.
The Pelicans now have the flexibility to make the types of moves that only teams with championship aspirations can make. They have a group of talented young players who have gotten better each season—in an unsteady situation in Los Angeles—and on June 20 they’ll draft their new face of the franchise in Zion Williamson. The Lakers are the winners of today, but the Pelicans could be the winners of tomorrow.