I exhaled in relief when reports came out a week ago deeming Lonzo Ball as untouchable in trade talks. Of course, he is untouchable! Ball is going to be great. He is the kid from Chino Hills, the one-and-done UCLA star and the franchise point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Surely, he is destined to spend his entire career in Los Angeles, right?
Just a few days ago, my brand new Lonzo Ball jersey finally came in the mail. I confidently unwrapped it and proudly gazed at the back of the jersey. “This was a safe buy,” I thought to myself.
The latest “Woj Bomb” shook that notion.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported: “Agent Rich Paul has notified the New Orleans Pelicans that All-NBA forward Anthony Davis has no intention of signing a contract extension if and when presented and that he has requested a trade.”
Everyone knew Davis wanted out of New Orleans. Everyone knows he wants to play for the Lakers, but now it’s official, and the Lakers are scrambling to put together a viable trade package for the superstar.
According to LA Times reporter Brad Turner, “LA has to start the deal with Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, No. 1 pick.”
Seeing Ball as the first name mentioned in the deal makes it even clearer. If LA wants to make a deal with New Orleans, Ball must be included in it.
Should I have kept the receipt?
Online chatter and rampant memes of this trade going down have a way of making us think and believe it will actually happen. I will believe it when I see it.
I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: the Lakers will not trade for Anthony Davis this season. As much as I want it to happen, I just do not see the Pelicans giving in. I hope I am wrong.
New Orleans has the control right now. The Pelicans have Davis for another season until he leaves for free agency. Davis can let everyone know he will not resign with any other team, giving the Lakers the advantage in trade talks over other teams. Even then, the Pelicans are going to do what is best for them. If any other team comes to them with a better deal, they will make it.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported that Lonzo Ball’s camp would prefer a three-team deal. Ball does not want to play in New Orleans and compete with other point guards. It is easy to see, Ball does not want to play for any other team but the Lakers. The NBA is a business, and he may get his first taste of it.
Trading for Davis and keeping Ball would be ideal, but that seems unlikely. Unfortunately, only one of those options has a greater chance of occurring. In the meantime, I will sport my purple and gold Lonzo Ball jersey and hope for the ideal to happen.
Other teams interested in Davis are the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks. The trio teams are expected to make strong pushes towards pairing Davis with a star player or making him their cornerstone player in the Knicks' case.
Teams have till the February 7th trade deadline to make complete any trade involving Anthony Davis. Until then, Lakers' fans will be biting their nails in anticipation of a possible Lebron James and Anthony Davis tandem mirroring the Shaq and Kobe dynasty of the early 2000s.
*preview photo credited to SB Nation
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