Trade talks seem to be heating up between the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans. After plenty of leverage ploys by both sides, it appears as though some progress is being made towards a deal that would send Anthony Davis to LA.
According to Tania Ganguli and Brad Turner of the LA Times, the Pelicans are currently weighing their options to send a counter offer to the Lakers:
The Pelicans are considering a counter offer that would ask for two first-round picks and add a Pelicans player to the deal, according to people with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The Lakers sent five offers to the Pelicans on Wednesday. One of the options offered Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac and a first-round pick, multiple sources said.
There are a couple important things to note here.
First, this seems to be a direct refute of the report from the night before that said the Lakers “lowballed” the Pelicans. The example offer given by Turner and Ganguli (who are more tied to the Lakers than the Pelicans although Turner has NOLA ties) shows that the Lakers have put all their trade chips out there.
Next, the fact that the Pelicans are considering giving a counter-offer shows that they are at least interested in the Lakers’ trade package. That consequently means that it seems at least plausible that the teams can find a compromise.
It should also be noted that the Pelicans wanting to include more of their players almost certainly means Solomon Hill who still has another year of his contract at about $13 million dollars remaining. The Lakers may need to find a third team to make that work given the lack of big contracts on their roster and their desire to maximize cap space for the summer.
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