Anthony Davis traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for 3 players, multiple picks
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) chat after the game at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, La. Sunday, March 31, 2019. The Lakers beat the Pelicans 130-102.(Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The New Orleans Pelicans have traded superstar Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks, a source confirmed to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune on Saturday.
ESPN was first to report the trade.
One of the first-round picks will be the No. 4 selection in the upcoming NBA Draft on June 20.
There is reason to believe the Pelicans are not done dealing. Sources inside the organization have indicated the team will continue to make moves and could deal either the No. 4 pick or one of the players they are taking back.
Also, what the future picks entail remains to be seen. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, New Orleans could control the Lakers’ first-round picks for several years into the future with pick swaps on top of gaining outright picks.
The trade ends a months-long saga ever since Davis’ agent Rich Paul went public with the trade request on Jan. 28. After the Pelicans didn’t deal Davis at the deadline, the team turned its focus to keeping him the rest of the season.
After the All-Star break, when the Pelicans moved on from general manager Dell Demps, New Orleans interim GM Danny Ferry and the coaching staff came up with a plan to play Davis in the 20-25 minute range for the rest of the season while giving him off on back-to-backs.
Davis did not play the final seven games of the season because of back spasms and famously wore a “That’s All Folks” t-shirt to the final game of the season.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis wears his "That's All Folks" t-shirt under a jacket during the game between the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Davis’ seven-year run in New Orleans comes to an end as he leaves as the team’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, made field goals and made free throws.
As he developed into one of the best players in the NBA, the Pelicans still only managed to win just one playoff series with Davis leading the way.
The team only made the playoffs twice - once in 2015 when they were swept by Golden State and again in 2018 when they defeated Portland in the first round in a sweep before losing to the Warriors in five.
Davis, a six-time All-Star, was third in the MVP voting in 2017-18 and many felt he could win the MVP prior to this season. But as injuries derailed the Pelicans’ season, so to did Davis’ MVP hopes - and his desire to stay in New Orleans at all.
Now, he brings his career averages of 23.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game to play alongside LeBron James in L.A., where the two could lead the Lakers deep into the playoffs next season with Golden State ravaged with injuries.
In the initial return, the Pelicans are getting back young players they coveted as well as future assets in the Lakers’ picks.
Ball, 21, averaged 9.9 points, 5.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game but shot 40.6 percent from the floor, 32.9 percent from deep and - yes - 41.7 percent from the free-throw line in just 48 attempts in 47 games. In his rookie season last year, the 6-foot-6, 190-pound Ball shot 36.0 percent from the floor, 30.5 from deep and 45.1 from the line.
His shooting numbers aside, if the Pelicans keep Ball around, a backcourt of Ball and Jrue Holiday could give the Pelicans one of the top defensive backcourts in the NBA.
Ingram, a 21-year-old third-year pro, averaged 18.3 points per game this season but his year was cut short by deep vein thrombosis. The Los Angeles Times reported in March that Ingram’s issue was structural and he’d be expected to get back on the court in 3-4 months.
ESPN’s story on the trade also mentions Ingram is expected to be back on the court in July and will be ready for training camp.
The 6-foot-9, 190-pound Ingram shot a career-best 49.7 percent from the field while pulling down 5.1 boards and dishing out 3.0 assists per game.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Hart played mostly shooting guard last season but can also play some small forward if needed. He averaged 7.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists last season while shooting 40.7 overall and 33.6 from deep.
He had a better rookie season in 2017-18 when he shot 46.9 percent overall and 39.6 percent from deep.
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