It’s no secret the Los Angeles Lakers have shown a great deal of interest in acquiring New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis.
Rumors swirled around the Lakers and the Pelicans star leading up the NBA Trade Deadline, and speculation about the 26-year-old heading to LA will continue to buzz through the summer.
The Lakers were unable to reel in Davis before the trade deadline, however, but not due to a lack of effort. Los Angeles reportedly put everything on the table, with the exception of LeBron James, to try and get a deal done, but the Pelicans would not budge.
One report had the Lakers parting ways with a significant portion of their roster to land Davis, including highly-valued youngsters Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball.
Landed in Indy; update on Lakers-Pelicans talks. Magic Johnson, Dell Demps talked twice today, per source. Lakers willing to give Pelicans cap relief for Anthony Davis by taking Solomon Hill for Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Ingram, Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Beasley, 2 1st round picks.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) February 4, 2019
But on Saturday, Lakers president Jeanie Buss refuted that the entire team was on the trading block, calling the report “fake news,” according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck.
Jeanie Buss calls “fake news” the reports that Lakers were prepared to trade “our entire roster” for “a certain player.”#SSAC19 #rebootingtherivalry
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) March 2, 2019
It’s apparent that when LA were unable to land Davis at the deadline, it resulted in the Lakers’ morale in the locker room taking a hit, with essentially every player on the team thinking they were easily expendable. The Lakers currently are in the midst of a pretty rough stretch, losing seven of their last 10 games, and James has voiced his frustrations as the team struggles to stay in playoff contention.
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