LeBron’s Lost Anthony Lakers
After getting stuffed in the Davis sweepstakes, L.A. is the biggest loser
Just think, all of that and fans get to live the Anthony Davis drama all over again in the summer.
Of all the deals that went down in a furious 24 hours leading up to Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, it was one that didn’t happen that may end up resonating the most when the 2019-20 season begins in the fall.
The New Orleans Pelicans, seemingly painted into a corner by a trade request from franchise cornerstone Davis, resisted any urge to move him and will not entertain offers until June’s draft and July’s free agency period, re-opening the can of worms.
The short result is that the Los Angeles Lakers, long thought to be Davis’s destination of choice, came away as major losers at the trade deadline, only able to obtain bit piece Mike Muscala from the Los Angeles Clippers. That lack of movement could mean LeBron James will sit out the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2004, and in his first season with the Lakers.
How that sits with him, and how the rest of the Lakers react to the front-office inertia that couldn’t get a deal done, will be one of the more interesting acts to watch unfold over the last 30 games or so of the regular season.
As much as the Lakers have to worry about being unable to pull off a deal for Davis, the Pelicans took a huge gamble by not moving him as well. Do they now sit him for the rest of the regular season to avoid any potential career-limiting injury, opening themselves up to grievances from a healthy player who wants to play? They may have opened more potential trade options by waiting until June, but will they be seen as more vulnerable by potential partners who know New Orleans has to do something?
There were a handful of other trades and non-trades that were attention grabbers:
The Memphis Grizzlies moved Marc Gasol but not Mike Conley, so their rebuilding process is not complete.
The Raptors (Gasol), Philadelphia 76ers (Tobias Harris) and Milwaukee Bucks (Niko Mirotic) made substantial moves, but the other big Eastern Conference team, the Boston Celtics, did nothing.
Philadelphia gave up on Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 overall pick in 2017, moving him to Orlando for Jonathon Simmons.
The Indiana Pacers, reeling from losing Victor Oladipo for the year with a ruptured quad, did nothing and took a step back from Eastern Conference contention.
The Los Angeles Clippers, who moved Harris to the Sixers to create summer cap space ostensibly to take a run at Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard, continued their teardown by moving Avery Bradley to Memphis for JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple.
And then there is the saga of Mississauga’s Nik Stauskas.
The former lottery pick has, since Sunday, been traded from Portland to Cleveland, from Cleveland to Houston, from Houston to Indiana, and was ultimately waived by the Pacers.
The 25-year-old guard is now a free agent and can make a deal with any team in the league — once his mind stops spinning, that is.