Getty Lakers star Anthony Davis talks to LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony
Anthony Davis has only played in 76 games over the last two seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers due to injuries. His inability to stay healthy has caused some people around the NBA to speculate if the Lakers should trade the talented big man this summer.
However, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto doesn’t see that happening since Davis has a “good relationship” with Lakers superstar LeBron James.
“LeBron and Anthony Davis believe they can be the foundation of a contender when they’re both fully healthy,” Scotto said on his podcast. “I know that’s a bit of an asterisk with Davis in particular. LeBron has missed some time over the past few years, but generally speaking, he’s pretty healthy. Some people wondered if the Lakers would consider dangling Davis. I personally don’t see that. People have to write stuff. I see the two of them remaining in unison together. Ultimately, Davis went to Klutch Sports to facilitate the trade to get to the Lakers in the first place. He and LeBron have a good relationship.”
The Lakers are 75-33 in the regular season since 2019-20 when LeBron and Davis play. They won the 2020 championship over the Miami Heat in the Walt Disney World bubble, but things have been rough for them the past two seasons.
Los Angeles lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2021 playoffs and didn’t make the postseason this campaign.
Davis Doesn’t Think Lakers Will Trade Him
Davis talked about his future with the Lakers with Dave McMenamin of ESPN after the team was eliminated from play-in tournament contention. The eight-time All-Star, who has been in the NBA since 2012, doesn’t concern himself with hypothetical trade scenarios.
“I can’t control those things,” Davis said. “That’s an upstairs thing. A Klutch, Rich Paul thing. My agency. I mean, my job is to go out and play basketball. Obviously, I love it in L.A. If that’s something that they’re considering, then we’ll have a conversation about it. I don’t know what they’re talking about, what’s the plan.
“I mean, I don’t think they’re planning on doing anything [with me]. I don’t know, man. Fu**, I don’t know.”
Davis appeared in 40 games for the Lakers this season. He averaged 23.2 points and 9.9 rebounds while shooting 53.2% from the field. Los Angeles had the second-best odds in the preseason to win the championship. Its Big Three of Davis, LeBron and Russell Westbrook was projected to make some serious noise.
However, the purple and gold were a walking disaster from start to finish, winning only 33 games.
For the Lakers to be better next season, Davis has to stay healthy. Since the two injuries he suffered this season were out of his control, though, AD will not re-evaluate his training methods this offseason.
Davis on His 2 Injuries This Year
Davis sprained his MCL in his left knee in December against the Minnesota Timberwolves and sustained a right mid-foot sprain in February versus the Utah Jazz. The one-time champion suffered his knee injury after LeBron accidentally knocked Timberwolves small forward Jaden McDaniels into the side of his leg and injured his foot after stepping on the foot of Jazz center Rudy Gobert.
“To be honest, my training methods were top tier,” Davis told McMenamin. “I can’t control stepping on someone’s foot and I can’t control someone falling into my leg. It’s not like I’m out of shape and I fu***** did some crazy sh*t or it was anything I could control. The good thing is, what people don’t know, is that the doctors actually told me that you’re lucky. Our team doctor said if you weren’t doing the work that you were supposed to be doing this summer, both could have been worse.
“I could have one, fu**** up my foot way more. Or I could have torn some sh*t in my knee. So it’s a positive for me, knowing that I put in a lot of work this summer and I prevented catastrophic injuries from happening to my body. So, people can say what they want to say, but I know what I do every summer to get ready for an 82-game season.”
The Lakers are widely expected to try to trade Westbrook this summer, but LeBron and Davis will probably be back.