Saturday night I was on my way in to the clinic to see a patient when I got the news of the NBA summer. Anthony Davis, the three-time first team All-NBA talent, six-time All-Star, and -- I would venture to say -- one of the top seven players in the world, has joined my favorite player (Lebron James) as the newest superstar for the Los Angeles Lakers. Although NBA free agency doesn’t start until June 30th (tune in next week for detailed coverage), the first domino of the offseason has fallen, and likely no other news this summer will have a greater impact on next year’s NBA season than this one.
If I had told you one week ago that the Lakers would be Vegas favorites to win the NBA Finals next year, I would have been banned from Title Run Sports; the first year of Lebron in L.A. has been atrocious. Enter Saturday night. Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a nuclear-level “Woj”-bomb that burries the 2018-19 season for Lebron and Lakers fans. Anthony Davis will be coming to L.A. for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, the fourth pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, and two additional first round picks. The Lakers have sacrificed most of their young nucleus to go after a championship NOW while Lebron still has plenty of game left in him.
Ingram, Ball, and Hart all had questions surrounding them toward the end of the season, each missing significant time from injuries, and none of them developing the way they had been projected to. It appeared the Celtics would also be a major competition for Davis, although Davis directed his agent Rich Paul to get him to L.A. if at all possible. Fortunately for the Lakers, the rival Celtics are unsure of their own future with Kyrie Irving insinuating he wants out and Boston being unwilling to shop their young, talented wing Jayson Tatum. In the end, the Lakers may have been the only real player for Anthony Davis. Could they have given up less? With all the questions surrounding Ingram’s ability to lead, Ball’s shooting, Hart’s development, and the durability of all three, it’s amazing they got what they did for those pieces – a superstar with the desire to stay in L.A., and a player who can legitimately make the Lakers Vegas’ favorite to win the NBA Finals next year.
Along with the most famous unibrow in the world, Davis brings with him 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. He plays defense at an All-NBA level (one All-Defensive
first team selection and two second team selections) which is a welcome addition to a Lakers defense that gave up 114 points per game last year, ranked 21st in the league. He will also be the best big Lebron has ever played with. Considering LeBron ability to help Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Timofey Mozgov, and Tristan Thompson earn massive contracts, it will be fun to watch him with a big man who has his own playmaking ability and both inside and outside scoring prowess.
Davis and Lebron will be joined by combo forward Kyle Kuzma, who was the Lakers second best player for large stretches of last season. Kuzma averaged 19 points and 6 rebounds on a very team-friendly rookie contract. The Lakers have him under control for another three years with less than a $2 million dollar cap hit for 2019-2020. All of their other rotational players from last year, Rajon Rondo, Javale McGee, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Bullock, Lance Stephenson, Mike Muscala, and Tyson Chandler, are free agents, so the Lakers have to decide whether to retain any of their veteran core or move forward building their backcourt and depth with free agents.
If the Lakers and Pelicans can agree to push the trade date back to July 30th, then the Lakers will have enough cap space ($33 million or so) to consider going for one of the other big free agents this summer. With their biggest needs being three-point shooting and backcourt depth, this could mean pursuing Kyrie Irving or Kemba Walker. If either team feels the need to make the trade go through on July 6th, the Lakers will be down to $27 million of cap space, and even less ($23 million) if Anthony Davis takes a 15% trade bonus the Pelicans have written into his contract. That would sink any chance they have of landing an additional max contract free agent, leaving them to peruse free agency for second and third-tier wings that can provide quality three-point shooting (an asset that Lebron has played well with over the years).
Lakers Free Agency Wish List
Tier One: Max(ish) Superstar Players -- The Lakers could likely afford one player off the list below.
DeMarcus Cousins - Cousins is no longer a max player, but he'll still be an expensive one, and appears to be a great fit on offense with his passing, versatility, and range. Playing with a high-level back line defender like Davis would also help greatly in masking his defensive deficiencies.
Kyrie Irving - Irving’s scoring ability and familiarity with LeBron would cement the Lakers as heavy title favorites.
Nikola Vucevic - Vucevic can score at all three levels, gets rebounds, and provides better defense and less injury risk than Cousins.
Kemba Walker - Kemba has voiced his desire to stay in Charlotte but would provide a dynamic third scoring option who isn’t afraid to take big shots.
Jimmy Butler - Butler is still a great defender who thrives in clutch situations, but it’s unclear how his alpha-dog mentality and isolation heavy playing style fits on the Lakers roster.
Klay Thompson - Prior to tearing his ACL, Thompson might have been tops on this list. With his 2019-20 season in jeopardy, it’s difficult to see the “win now” Lakers giving a max deal to a player who might miss all of LeBron’s age 35 season. His defense and efficiency off-the-ball make him a perfect fit for a LeBron James team, but there’s no getting around obvious concerns about the catastrophic injury he just sustained.
Tier Two: Less-than-Max Good Players -- The Lakers could possibly afford two names off this list, especially if one is willing to take a discount to come to L.A. They could also select one name of this list and possibly two off the Tier Three list.
Brook Lopez- While always a good offensive player, “Splash Mountain” developed into an extremely dangerous stretch five and also enjoyed the best defensive year of his career playing beside Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Khris Middleton - Middleton's shooting and defense seem like a seamless fit. He won't be cheap, but it might be worth slightly over-paying to have an All-Star shooting guard as your third scoring option.
Tobias Harris - Big, efficient shooter that can score with limited touches; he’s basically the high-end version of Kyle Kuzma, making his skill set a bit redundant on the Lakers roster.
D’Angelo Russell - Traded away as an immature underachiever, Russell could return as an All-Star point guard that provides the perimeter scoring the Lakers desperately need.
DeAndre Jordan - Jordan is essentially a better version of Javale McGee; his defense, rebounding, and lob proficiency would be an upgrade, but his skill set wouldn’t bring anything new to the roster.
Tier Three: High End Role Players -- The Lakers could conceivably afford as many as three players off this list and go for high-quality depth over top-heavy talent.
Malcom Brogdon - Young, cheap, efficient, and good on both ends of the floor.
Ricky Rubio - Rubio provides good defense and passing, but he's essentially just a slightly younger version of Rajon Rondo.
Patrick Beverley - Provides toughness, elite defense, and solid three-point shooting.
Trevor Ariza - Still a quality three-and-D wing in his mid-thirties.
J.J. Redick - Redick remains a high-end shooter that enjoyed the best season of his NBA career (18.1 ppg) at age 34.
Danny Green - Green has championship pedigree and provides a younger, cheaper three-and-D option than Trevor Ariza.
Enes Kanter - A quality big that can rebound and score and whose defensive limitations would be minimized next to Anthony Davis.
Imagine the Lakers adding a combination like Middleton/Rubio/Green, or Lopez/Beverley/Redick or even Tobias Harris and DeAndre Jordan. That kind of quality depth might bring a better return than a "big three" that leaves a paper-thin bench and nowhere to turn if one of the stars gets hurt. (Sound familiar?)
Regardless of what route the Lakers choose, the combo of “The King” and “The Brow” will be enticing enough to encourage any veterans looking for a ring to strongly considering coming to Hollywood.
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