Getty Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers are being linked with a potential trade for Kyrie Irving after the superstar point guard reached an impasse last week with the Brooklyn Nets over a potential extension.
However, despite rumors to the contrary, the Lakers have no interest in including Anthony Davis as part of a trade package for Irving — or for any other star for that matter — according to Zach Lowe.
Lakers Unequivocally Won’t Trade Anthony Davis
“I’ve been told in no uncertain terms Anthony Davis is not getting traded. So let’s get that out of the way, let alone being traded for Kyrie Irving,” Lowe said on the June 24 episode of “The Lowe Post” podcast.
Davis has been the subject of criticism following a season in which injuries kept him off the court for 42 games and the Lakers missed the postseason. Still, it seems as though the front office is fully committed to keeping its star forward around and is looking to design the Lakers’ roster to accentuate his and LeBron James’ skill sets.
Davis Recently Made Disappointing Admission
After missing over half of the regular season, you could be forgiven for expecting Davis to get back into the lab and begin working on his body, and his game. However, it seems as though those expectations were not met, as the Lakers star forward recently acknowledged that he hadn’t touched a basketball since before the end of the regular season.
“I haven’t shot a basketball since April, like maybe, April 5th,” Davis said on the June 10 episode of “The Nuke Squad’s” YouTube Vlog.
Davis is widely considered to be Los Angeles’ long-term solution once LeBron retires or joins another team, but his statement could be perceived by some in the Lakers’ fan base as a lack of commitment.
Still, though it might be typical for an athlete of Davis’ caliber and stature to take a short break from the game, especially one whose body needs ample time to heal. Nevertheless, hearing him say so casually that he hadn’t shot a basketball in over two months was hard for some to swallow.
Adrian Wojnarowski Casts Doubt on Kyrie to Lakers
Another sticking point in any potential deal for Irving, who will earn $36.5 million if he picks up his option by June 29, is that the Lakers don’t currently have the cap space to sign him in free agency, meaning they would need the Nets to play ball on a potential sign-and-trade — and that kind of deal comes with it own hurdles and pitfalls.
“The Lakers — except for they go out and really do some creative things financially — they can’t pay him more than $6 million next season,” Wojnarowski said on the June 24 episode of “NBA Today.” Now they could clear some cap space and sign him to an extension down the road, but you’re essentially looking at a $30 million pay cut to walk away from this Brooklyn team, to opt out. … Just opting in to get a sign-and-trade somewhere, it’s a very complicated scenario.”
If the Lakers are sold on the idea of adding Irving to their roster, and believe he could be the missing piece to a new championship puzzle, we can expect them to pursue the Nets guard throughout the summer. If Lowe’s reporting is accurate, we know that Davis isn’t going to be part of any trade package, for Irving or anybody else.