Getty Lakers star Anthony Davis
Friday was a good night for the Lakers, as the team was able to pull out a tough win in Memphis while their two rivals for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference—which comes with the chance to enter the playoffs with just one win—both lost. The Lakers welcomed Anthony Davis back to the fold after he missed the last seven quarters over two games, and he was brilliant with 36 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
But again, the mere fact that the Lakers are in this position, fighting for play-in positioning with a roster that was supposed to be ready for Western Conference contention, points up a much bigger issue. This team has hit its ceiling, and when it is KO’d from the postseason picture in the coming weeks, it should be time for a reckoning.
Around the league, there are suggestions that the Lakers should consider major changes—“drastic” moves that include not only jettisoning LeBron James but also include looking into the trade market for Davis over the summer. That won’t be easy, though.
For one thing, league execs point out, trading Davis is not easy. He has a record $177 million extension that kicks in for 2025-26. For another thing, while some within the Lakers might be in favor of a Davis trade, as one West executive said, “They’re not at the top of the food chain.”
Lakers Could Turn to Knicks for Ideal Trade Package
But if the Lakers were to put Davis on the market, what might they expect? Certainly, they’d like some star power in return but perhaps even more important would be a replenishing of the team’s barren draft cupboard. No team is better positioned to do that than the New York Knicks, who have all their first-round picks in place, plus one from Dallas this year, and (well-protected) future picks from the Pistons and Wizards.
“When you look at it, if you’re serious about trading Davis at some point then you need to accomplish a few things,” one GM told Heavy Sports. “You have to get him somewhere he wants to be. He wants to be a Laker. So if you trade him, you have to do right by him, send him to a good team in a good market, you don’t want to burn any bridges with (Klutch Sports, Davis’s representatives). You need a team willing to take on his money. Because it’s a lot. And you need a team who can load you up with draft picks.
“There’s really one team that fits all of those, and that’s the Knicks. It would not be hard to make a deal work there. You can line up the salaries. You can package a ton of picks. You can throw in a young player. You can take on a salary the Lakers might not want. I mean, he is one player and you can get a huge haul here.”
What Would an Anthony Davis Trade Look Like?
That would shake out to Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic going to the Lakers along with guard Miles McBride, and the Knicks taking back Davis and the final two years of Gabe Vincent’s deal. But the prize would be the picks, which could include the potential Detroit-Washington late lottery picks that will (hopefully) come through in the next two years.
The Knicks could add two picks of their own, plus swaps going forward.
This, of course, presumes the Lakers would see LeBron James opt out in the offseason and would not attempt to re-sign him. That is a longshot, as the Lakers are still a star-dominant organization despite the obvious need for a reboot in L.A.
Salary relief and draft picks are not glitzy by Lakers standards. But as the GM said, “It’s going to be necessary sooner or later. Clear room, get picks and give yourself the chance to sign free agents or bring someone in by trade. The longer you wait, the less you’re going to get. It’s hard to convince the people at the top—in any organization, not just the Lakers—to do that, though.”