Getty Anthony Davis (right) of the Lakers
It’s encouraging to know that, in his three seasons since arriving in Los Angeles from New Orleans in one of the NBA’s biggest-ever trades, Anthony Davis’ Lakers have gone 86-52, a .628 winning percentage. Problem is, L.A. has played 87 games without him in the past three years, and posted a winning percentage of .472.
That’s not encouraging when taking an honest look at the team’s future. In fact, Heavy Sports’ NBA insider Steve Bulpett says, this is really nothing new for Davis.
Back when Bulpett covered the Celtics for the Boston Herald, he talked with a Pelicans official about Davis’ durability (the Celtics were pushing to trade for him), and there were red flags aplenty. First on the list: Davis was a bit soft.
“Someone with New Orleans told me, when the Celtics were in the hunt for Anthony Davis heavily, he said you’d better make sure that Marcus Smart is not included in that deal because you’re going to need someone tough to stand next to Anthony Davis,” Bulpett said in a video interview. “No. 2, he told me he had never, ever seen a player take that many trips to the trainer’s room. Now, we’re not talking about a serious injury and a guy being stupid and making himself even more hurt, but just that the people around him will tell you, he goes to the trainer’s room for the slightest issue. A hangnail, that can be a problem.”
Lakers Sent Out a Mega-Package for Davis
Davis did help the Lakers to the 2020 NBA championship in the Orlando bubble, and was excellent that season with averages of 26.1 points and 9.3 rebounds. The Lakers had given up a slew of players to get him, working a deal with New Orleans that saw star forward Brandon Ingram and guard Lonzo Ball join Josh Hart and the recently drafted De’Andre Hunter.
The Lakers also gave up a first-round pick this year, as well as in 2024 or 2025, plus a pick swap in 2023.
It can be argued that the championship made the trade worth it, but it was a lot of capital that the Lakers gave up. Davis is only 29 but he has seen a dip in his numbers the last two seasons, and averaged 23.2 points this season after notching 21.8 last year. He signed a $190 million contract with the Lakers in 2020.
Can the Lakers Count on Anthony Davis?
What does seem clear is that the Lakers can’t necessarily count on Davis as a future cornerstone the way they thought they could when they made the deal in 2019—he was to be the successor to LeBron James, the franchise passed from one superstar to the next. His health, though, has made that increasingly unlikely, and there is some consternation within the Lakers organization about how the franchise should move forward if Davis continues to struggle with bumps and bruises.
As one Western Conference executive told Heavy recently: “There are some in that organization who would not mind seeing what they can bring back for AD, but they would not do it with LeBron there. You get to 2024, though, and maybe things change. … Davis can be a free agent then, too, so he could look to sign elsewhere or he could opt in for 2024-25 and be traded. A lot of players want to push their free agency to 2025 because that is when the new TV should come in.
“The Lakers have AD for two more years for sure, and they can only hope he stays healthy. But after that, they have to think, is this guy really our future? He can’t stay on the floor. And he has to think, do I want to be here without LeBron? That’s why the Lakers do not want to give up those future picks (in a trade).”