Getty Los Angeles Lakers teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Los Angeles Lakers forward, Anthony Davis has been a member of the purple and gold for a year.
To make the deal work, the Lakers shipped Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Davis on June 17, 2019.
The deal has been fruitful for both teams. Brandon Ingram made his first All Star team this season and Lonzo Ball has found chemistry with Pelicans rookie, Zion Williamson.
The Lakers have garnered instant success this season and sit in first place in the NBA’s Western Conference standing with a 49-14 record. Davis, a University of Kentucky product is averaging 26.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.4 blocks per game this season for Los Angeles.
GettyThe trade for Kevin Garnett is one of the best moves the franchise ever made (Getty)
On last week’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast, former Celtics champ, Kendrick Perkins compared Davis to Kevin Garnett. “He’s a guy that we’ve never seen before,” Perkins tells me.
“He’s one of one. He’s a generational talent. In my opinion, the closest guy that I’ve seen to Anthony Davis was Kevin Garnett when you look at the whole body of work that they both can do; their handles, their passing ability, their shot blocking, the way they defend they can switch from 1 through 5, they rebound at a high level. It’s no limitations on their game really. Offensively they both can shoot the 3. They both had post moves. KG had post moves. AD has post moves. KG could push the rock. AD could push the rock. But, AD is one of one man. He’s a generational talent.”
Appearing on the Scoop B Radio Podcast, retired NBA champ, Ryan Hollins seconds Perkins’ comparison. “Scoop you can timestamp me on that,” he said.
“Go back when he first came to L.A. and I did LA Radio and that was the comparison I gave. He’s not the leader that Kevin is. Nowhere near the leader. But in terms of a guy that can do everything and they’re the perfect compliment; they’re the frontcourt versions of Scottie Pippen. And it was intriguing when I even think of — and maybe this is a list of another Best All-Around players… when I think about the best all around players ever, I would go LeBron James, and number two, Kevin Garnett and three, I’ll possibly throw Pippen and AD in there. AD in that Scottie Pippen role: block shots, rebounds, knock some 3’s down, he can pass, does just about everything. In terms of Kevin Garnett, Kevin Garnett is a better player, better phenom at a younger age. There was nothing like it. He revolutionized the game of basketball. I remember thinking like yo, here’s a big guy that legitimately starting at small forward in the NBA, I’ve never seen that. Joe Smith was the 4, Kevin was the 3 and Ervin Johnson was the 5. But AD definitely is the CLOSEST thing we have to Kevin Garnett basketball-wise. Leadership wise I don’t think that there’s anything like KG. He’s one of one leadership wise. It’ll be a while before we see something like that — it’s not even comparable what he does behind the scenes. But as far as on the court, absolutely brother!”