Getty Lakers star Anthony Davis
Before the season started, Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis said his goal was to play in all 82 games. It took five games for that goal not to be reached, as Davis missed the Lakers’ fifth game of the season on October 28 against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a back injury.
The Lakers have started the season 0-5 and many pundits believe general manager Rob Pelinka needs to make a trade to shake things up. On October 27, Matt Moore of the Action Network tweeted that the purple and gold should trade Davis so they can “reset the asset chest.” One trade Los Angeles could make is trading Davis to the Washington Wizards for Kristaps Porzingis and Monte Morris. That trade works under CBA rules.
“If we’re not going to duck things, this won’t happen but the clearest path to the Lakers course correcting is trading Anthony Davis,” Moore tweeted. “He’ll return a ton even with the injuries, reset the asset chest, and ultimately it would be a net positive given his unavailability. The idea of Anthony Davis is now several significant degrees beyond the reality.”
Davis signed a five-year, $190 million contract with the Lakers in December 2020. The deal includes an early termination option in 2024 and will be fully up in 2025. The eight-time All-Star always seems to be hurt, leaving LeBron James hung out to dry.
A three-time blocks champion, Davis played in only 36 games in 2020-21 and 40 games last season. The Chicago native is still one of the most talented players in the NBA. However, since he can’t stay healthy and his 3-point shot has gotten worse, the Lakers could become more dynamic on offense if they traded Davis to the Wizards for Porzingis and Morris.
Porzingis & Morris Can Shoot
Porzingis and Morris can both shoot the ball well from deep, which makes them ideal players for the Lakers to target. Porzingis is a career 35.4% shooter from beyond the arc, while Morris is at 39.4%. The Lakers desperately need more shooters around James. They are shooting only 23.7% from 3-point land as a team through the first five games of the season.
Porzingis’ ability to hit 3-pointers would create more driving lanes and floor spacing for James. When Porzingis leaves the paint and goes to the perimeter, his defender has to come with him, which leaves the paint open for James to attack. KP, who made a career-high 142 3s in 2019-20, has career averages of 18.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists with the New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks and Wizards.
Morris isn’t an All-Star, but he’s a consistent guard who knows his role. The 27-year-old, who has career averages of 10.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists, hit 124 3-pointers last season for the Denver Nuggets.
NBA Exec: I Don’t Think the Lakers Will Trade Davis
Heavy.com senior insider Sean Deveney spoke to an anonymous Western Conference executive who believes the Lakers will keep Davis. Davis and James have a close relationship and are represented by the same agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.
“I don’t see them trading AD, not with all the connections he has on that team, with LeBron and with Klutch,” the exec told Deveney. “They gave up so much to get him to LA. They’re not going to turn around and dump him. Even with the injuries, though, everyone would want him, he is still an elite two-way player when he is healthy.”
Since the Lakers need more shooters and Davis hasn’t proven that he can stay healthy, Pelinka should consider trading the future Hall of Famer to the Wizards for Porzingis and Morris. Los Angeles could start Russell Westbrook, Morris, Lonnie Walker IV, James and Porzingis if they pulled off the deal.