Onto the next one. Less than 48 hours after the Toronto Raptors were crowned our 2019 NBA Champions in their Game 6 defeat of the Golden State Warriors, attention shifted to the first major off-season move of what I expect will be many more to come. That move, of course, is the trade between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers which sends Anthony Davis to California in exchange for essentially every single Laker except for LeBron James himself. That’s right, in exchange for the Brow, the Magic-Johnson-free Lakers decided to package Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and 3 first-round draft picks (including this year’s #4 overall) to the Pelicans, who are likely to select Zion Williamson first overall during Thursday night’s NBA Draft. The acquisition and pairing of AD with LeBron seem logical for LA, but in this post I will be analyzing the trade and explaining why I think that Los Angeles gave up too much depth to justify it, and why it may end up hurting them in the long run.
Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart are all young and promising players. I’m not going to go as far as Lavar Ball often does when describing his son’s talents, but I expect him to develop into a solid starting point guard if he’s able to avoid injuries as his career continues. Brandon Ingram has been called the “next KD” which I think may be a stretch to some degree, but it’s entirely possible that Ingram will one day develop into an all-star level player especially if surrounded by other young talented players. Josh Hart and the 3 first round draft picks (WAY too many, in my opinion) are unknowns to me, but at the very least I expect one of those four players to at least benefit the Pelicans’ depth. In return for this haul, the Lakers acquired superstar Anthony Davis. While I’m excited to see Davis play alongside LeBron James on a nightly basis, I’m worried about the Lakers’ lack of depth now that the deal is done. The way that the Lakers handle free agency this offseason is going to dramatically shape their future for the next 3 to 5 years, and I think going after another superstar like Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, or Jimmy Butler this summer would be a mistake. While Golden State was able to find success and win championships with a star-studded roster, that was only possible with a talented bench who could get buckets every night to take the load off of their superstars. They were unable to win it all this year as their bench proved to be insufficient and injuries shook the foundation of their super-team. The Lakers may run into the same fate if they try to acquire another superstar. I also do not like the prospect of removing young players and draft picks. It may be a harsh reality to some, but LeBron is aging, won’t be in the league forever, and has a supermassive contract which eats up cap space to acquire depths and shooters to surround the new best backcourt in the Western Conference and possibly the NBA. LAL seems to be convinced they can win a championship next season, but I am doubting that as of right now. On the other hand, I think that the New Orleans Pelicans will be a force to be reckoned with in a few years, and would be even more of a threat sooner if they were in the Eastern Conference (they’re in Louisiana, why aren’t they anyway?).
