Getty Anthony Davis guards Trae Young
A new trade proposal has the Los Angeles Lakers trading Anthony Davis to the Atlanta Hawks for Trae Young and two players.
In a May 24 story called “Trade Packages to Land Lakers a Star, Keep LeBron James Out of Retirement,” Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report proposed that the Lakers trade Davis and Rui Hachimura to the Hawks for Young, Onyeka Okongwu and De’Andre Hunter.
“The idea of Trae Young joining the Lakers is already in the ether,” Bailey wrote. “The fit between him and Dejounte Murray wasn’t great in Year 1, and The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reported that L.A. has already had ‘internal discussions’ about acquiring him. Atlanta Hawks writers like Hawks.com’s Kevin Chouinard have understandably pooh-poohed the notion of such a deal, but what if the Lakers got really serious and put Anthony Davis on the table?
“The Ringer’s Bill Simmons kicked around the idea of an AD-Young swap on a recent episode of his Bill Simmons Podcast with Buha appearing as a guest. Of course, this wouldn’t accomplish LeBron’s potential goal of upgrading from two stars to three, but Young doesn’t turn 25 till September. That alone could keep the Lakers’ window to contend open a bit longer, and Young’s averages of 27.4 points and 9.7 assists over the last four seasons suggest he’s more capable of alleviating LeBron’s responsibilities than Davis is.”
The Lakers have had internal discussions about what a hypothetical trade offer for Young could look like this summer, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Young is represented by Omar Wilkes of Klutch Sports Group, the same agency LeBron James and Davis are with.
Trae Young Could Spare LeBron James
James had 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. However, the Lakers still lost.
Bailey thinks Young could spare James performances like the one he had in Game 4.
“In the closeout game against Denver, LeBron played 48 minutes, scored 40 points and was seemingly running on fumes by the end of the game,” Bailey wrote. “AD wasn’t able to carry enough of that load. Young could spare LeBron performances like that and potentially preserve whatever he has left in the tank over the next few years.”
Young signed a five-year, $215.2 million rookie maximum extension with the Hawks in August 2021. The two-time All-Star averaged 26.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 10.2 assists this season for the Hawks while shooting 42.9% from the field, 33.5% from 3 and 88.6% from the free-throw line.
Sources: The Lakers Don’t Plan on Trading Anthony Davis
The Lakers don’t plan on trading Davis this summer, sources told Heavy Sports. The Chicago native and eight-time All-Star has a close relationship with James.
After Los Angeles lost Game 4 to Denver, Davis spoke about the Lakers’ future.
“We are definitely trending in the right direction,” Davis said. “Like I said, we don’t know what the roster looks like next year, but I think the guys that came in in the second half of the season played well for us and also helped us into this situation.
“Obviously, the goal is to win championships, and we wanted to be not just knocking on the door but actually get it done, walk through the door. So that’s our goal. That’s our goal every time we step on the floor for training camp, and I’m a hundred percent sure that will be the goal next year.”
Davis finished the 2023 postseason averaging 22.6 points, 14.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 3.1 blocks in 16 games versus the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and Nuggets.