Anthony Davis Trade Rumors: Could Lakers Wait And Sign AD As A Free Agent?

The Los Angeles Lakers would love nothing more than to acquire Anthony Davis before the trade deadline next Thursday. Unfortunately for them, the New Orleans Pelicans have little incentive to deal Davis before the deadline, and they seem unimpressed with LA’s initial offer.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Saturday that the Pelicans are “underwhelmed” by the Lakers’ offer of Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley and a first-round pick. It seems New Orleans would ideally want Kuzma, Ball and Brandon Ingram along with at least one draft pick, but the Lakers are unwilling to give up all three young players in one trade, per Wojnarowski.

If the Lakers cannot get Davis by next Thursday, could they simply wait to pick him up in free agency when his current contract expires? That is a complicated question that requires a handful of things to go the Lakers’ way.

First, they would need Davis to play out the rest of his contract, which lasts through the 2019-20 season, wherever the Pelicans trade him. Then, they would need him to not sign an extension with that team, be it the Boston Celtics or anywhere else. After that, they would need to convince him the Lakers’ roster is championship worthy, whatever it looks like in a year and a half.

There are reasons to believe Davis would not sign an extension with the Celtics, but plenty can change between now and then. Even if he becomes a free agent in 2020, Lakers star LeBron James will be 35 by then. While the eventual Hall of Famer has not shown much sign of decline yet, nothing is guaranteed in the NBA.

For those reasons, the Lakers’ best shot is to put together a good enough offer in the next five days to convince the Pelicans to deal Davis by the deadline. If that does not happen, the Celtics can enter the fray on July 1 and offer better draft capital and possibly better young talent in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

The Celtics cannot trade for Davis during this season because of Kyrie Irving’s contract. Boston needs to either get rid of Irving or sign him to a different deal to get Davis on the roster. Wojnarowski previously reported that the Pelicans are more likely than not to wait until the summer to sort out the Davis situation

As pointed out by Wojnarowski’s report, the situation is similar to the Lakers’ pursuit of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The Oklahoma City Thunder stunned the NBA world by trading for George, who was long thought to be headed to LA. George then signed a long-term extension in OKC.

Leonard was also thought to be LA-bound, but he ended up with the Toronto Raptors via trade. He is a free agent after this season, so he could still end up in LA, which would surely make the Lakers a more compelling destination for future free agents such as Davis.