The Los Angeles Lakers have been vying for a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans in order to bring Anthony Davis to the team. They’ve offered up young players and future picks, but it never seemed to be enough for the Pelicans. It’s now being reported that the Lakers are no longer discussing the trade with the Pelicans.
Lakers pull out of Anthony Davis trade talks amid 'outrageous' requests by Pelicans https://t.co/VpB2P0pGa6
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) February 5, 2019
It’s understandable that the Pelicans will want a big return for trading away their best player, but they can’t expect teams to give up everything for him. However, the LA Times article that Turner links to mentions that the Lakers will offer the Pelicans less if they wait until the summer to make a deal for Davis.
As Turner reports, the Lakers’ final offer consisted of plenty of major assets but did include as many picks as the Pelicans reportedly requested:
The Lakers had agreed to send their entire young core of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Ivica Zubac to the Pelicans, as well as veteran guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the people said.
The Lakers were also winning to also send the Pelicans two first-round draft picks.
And the Lakers were willing to give the Pelicans the salary-cap relief they wanted by taking back Solomon Hill, who has another year left on his deal after this season for $12.7 million.
The Lakers had made several changes to their proposals for the Pelicans, taking out a package that had included Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson, the person said.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are willing to re-engage in talks with the Pelicans, but not if they have to bid against themselves. Fans, as well as the Lakers front office, are anxious to see how this plays out.
The Lakers are still glad to engage with the Pelicans on an Anthony Davis trade, but no longer want to bid against themselves, league sources tell ESPN. Lakers are waiting for Pelicans to make a counter-proposal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2019
If Pelicans want to counter the Lakers most recent offer on Davis, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka are obviously anxious to find a pathway for a trade. This is a negotiation tactic on behalf of Lakers, who have wanted New Orleans to show more initiative in the process. https://t.co/A18urbnu6h
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2019
With the trade deadline approaching, reports are running rampant. We won’t know what will happen until teams actually make decisions, but if the Lakers can manage to have Anthony Davis on the roster by the end of the week, many Lakers fans will be happy with that. It would also happen in time for the team to make a good run at the playoffs.
