Lakers' Free Agent Chase Aided By New Recruit, LeBron Influence Questioned

Anthony Davis will wear purple and gold next season but the trade to take him from New Orleans Pelicans to Los Angeles Lakers while it has been agreed cannot be confirmed before July 6. The power forward will team up with LeBron James and has already joined him in helping recruit another star – a first for Davis, who has never previously been on the market to do so.

The Lakers gave up a big chunk of their young core to land Davis from the Pelicans but they will need to fill out the roster before the next season gets underway while they are also likely to have $32 million cap space to sign one max free agent and they are likely to target one of the elite players coming on the market this summer.

Kawhi Leonard leads the free agency class this summer and will be joined by the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler and Kemba Walker among others and the Lakers are certain to make a play for one among the aforementioned players.

James, who missed the playoffs in his first season with the Lakers, was clear he will help his team sign the best players and made his recruitment pitch following the end of the regular season. The three-time NBA champion got his wish to play alongside Davis and now the forward has joined the recruiting process.

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Davis has been active in texts and calls trying to recruit another star and make it a “Big 3” in Los Angeles, which will certainly make them one of the favorites for the 2020 NBA championship. The NBA insider, however, is curious to see how the LeBron-Davis team will work when it comes to recruiting the right player for the Lakers.

Moreover, she acknowledges that James had the power to convince players to join during his heydays with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers but is waiting to see if he still has the same impact with the Lakers. The one point being the 15-time NBA All-Star’s age, with many claiming that he is in the twilight of his illustrious career that has seen him establish himself as one of the greatest ever to play the game.

“Anthony Davis, we don’t know how he is as a recruiter, but I’ve certainly heard that he’s been busy with the text messages and phone calls already. This was what, last Saturday that this went through? So you have two recruiters now,” Shelburne said, as quoted on Silver Screen and Roll. “It’s not just LeBron, it’s Anthony Davis, who hasn’t really ever been in a market or situation where his pull mattered, but we’re about to find out, and I think it’s an interesting referendum on who wants to play with LeBron, but also who wants to come play with Anthony Davis and LeBron."

“In Cleveland, the fact that (LeBron) was able to move those two guys so quickly with just a phone call speaks volumes with how he was regarded in the league at that time, and how the opportunity to play there alongside him was regarded at the time. That was what, five, six years ago now? So let’s see. Let’s see where we are. Things have changed, and situations have changed,” the ESPN NBA insider added.