Woj: Anthony Davis Traded to Lakers for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, & Three 1st Rnd Picks - including #4

[Howard Mass]

HOWARD!!!1

Your Lakers get another contender in the short run though.

The "short run"? AD is 26 years old

True but a lot can happen in 4-6 years.

[stitches]

According to Woj, the AD deal will be finalized on July 6th, NOT on July 30th. This means the Lakers will only have about 23M in capspace to deal with in free agency, rather than the 32M they could have if the deal is finalized at the end of July.

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[BVB24]

That was fast.

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[Anti Chalmers]

How did get fleeced? Their best assets were Lebron and Kuzma, and didn't trade either. Ingram is in his final year, he's a big risk with his health, and Lebron can't wait around for this kid to enter his prime. Ball just isn't that good, atleast not yet. Hart is ok, but come on he was a 7ppg guy last year. The fourth pick could be really nice, but the other picks, will probably be players that will be in the G-League more than their actual roster. Other than 3 late first round steals (Siakam, Bogdanović, and Kuzma), picks 26-30 are pretty forgettable players. 1 in 10 turns out to good player in this range. Now with Lebron AND Davis, they will be very attractive for a star to join to their back court. They still got a ton of money left. In the end, what was better, to trade a few guys who wont shift the needle for the Lakers in the next couple of years, or make this move now in be an instant contender.

I made a poll a few days ago on GB asking posters to rate the Lakers best trade asset outside of LeBron. The number four pick was the runaway winner followed by Ingram then Lonzo. Kuzma was last. You’re definitely in the minority with that opinion.

I don’t think the Lakers are getting a third guy but let’s say best case scenario happens and Kawhi signs. How are Lakers filling out their roster? They’ll have one MLE then the tax paying MLE each year after. Outside of that it’s all minimum contracts.

Even if you’re not high on Ingram or Lonzo the picks are a killer. You think they’ll all be late 20s. Maybe the first couple will. LeBron is turning 36 this year. His body is starting to break down. Pelicans now own the Lakers future for the next half decade. We’ve already seen a version of how this plays out with the Nets.

I don't think Leonard is leaving, nor should he. Leonard is in a great situation, they just won a title, Siakam is young, will only get better, etc. Now if he did go to LA, you could surround this team with anybody, they are champs for the next 3 years. I'd say Lebron and Leonard are probably the two best players in the NBA, but lets throw in Curry, Harden, and Giannis in that mix. I would say AD is probably in the next group. I purposely left out Durant because we don't know what he'll come back as, and he wont be back to a high level of play probably for atleast 2 years.

Trio of AD, Lebron, and Kawhi would be the goat trio of all time. You can make an argument they’re 3 of the top 5 players in the world. Crazy stuff and it’s possible too.

[Don Ford]

According to Woj, the AD deal will be finalized on July 6th, NOT on July 30th. This means the Lakers will only have about 23M in capspace to deal with in free agency, rather than the 32M they could have if the deal is finalized at the end of July.

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[igorbianch]

According to Woj, the AD deal will be finalized on July 6th, NOT on July 30th. This means the Lakers will only have about 23M in capspace to deal with in free agency, rather than the 32M they could have if the deal is finalized at the end of July.

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Its 27 millions if AD waive his trade kicker.

[Ben Simmons]

Lakers and Houston are both capable of winning the West, especially Houston, but both teams are injury-prone

We could probably say the same about the Sixers..

Only Embiid

[hoosierdaddy34]

It's not about individual talent. I believe Lonzo and Ingram both have him beat as individual players. Kuzma's value is that he's a better fit next to a Lebron/AD pairing. He gets buckets and doesn't need the ball. Of the 3, he'll be the best 3rd/4th option, even though he's less talented.

Ingram played his best basketball when Lebron wasn't on the court. They never quite figured out how to play with each other. BI is a guy who can run your offense, and even played some PG for the Lakers, but he needs the paint to be cleared out. He isn't a floor spacer yet but I feel strongly that he eventually will become one as he adds strength. He's shown he can do it on low volume.

Lonzo was the guy I wanted to keep the most, but again, when you have Lebron/AD you need a guard who spaces the floor. He was a good shooter in college and showed he can be streaky in the NBA. He isn't far from being an all-star if he just adds a consistent shot. Even just around 36% from 3 will take his game to another level. Kemba or Kyrie would be more ideal.

How again does he fit better when his defense is very subpar and shot just 31% from 3 last year? Including like just 29% in C&S situations? He shot the ball well the first couple months in the league. But didn’t shoot well the end of his rookie year, didn’t shoot well his entire second year and wasn’t a good shooter in college. What seems to be the outlier here? Lonzo and Ingram are both closer to that magical 36% rate than Kuzma is.

This is one of those situations that keeps getting repeated over and over again in Lakeland but just isn’t true. We love to repeat these narratives over and over again without looking at the actual situation in front of us.

I like Ingram’s upside the most, but I would accept the argument that Lonzo fit the best absolutely. He is so productive without the ball, that is a solid argument to keep him over Ingram. But I see zero case to be made for Kuzma.

I didn't say anything about his 3-ball . I said he's the best 3rd/4th option out of the 3 between he, Lonzo and BI. He doesn't need the ball to get his 20 points. Lonzo isn't really an option in the halfcourt. He's elite in the open court and defers in the halfcourt. That is both a blessing and a curse depending on who you have around him. If you're going to run the offense through Lebron/AD, as they should, then Kuzma is the better release valve.

Yeah I don’t know how one quantifies any of that realistically. Again it’s a narrative that has stuck around Lakers fandom because had picture taken with Kobe at dinner, or went to some workouts with LeBron but it’s not really based in any sort of reality. But if you don’t need to get the ball to get your 20 points then A. You’d be an elite three point shooter. (He isn’t) B. You’d be elite in transition (Ingram is far better, just look at his PPP 1.22 vs 1.03) and/or C. You would be very effective on cuts to the basket (Ingram better again 1.43 to 1.23). Kuzma is worse than Ingram in all three of those areas.

Fact is Kuzma just shoots a lot and not very efficiently and isn’t a good defender. There is a reason people call him the 6’9 Jordan Clarkson on Twitter. Yet a couple pictures with the right people got a section of Lakers fans thinking he’s this great role player. He isn’t.

[LKN]

I see a lot of people aren’t aware of just how bad the draft pick protections and deferments are for the Lakers. They weren’t first reported so people outside of NOLA don’t know.

The Lakers can’t trade a FRP pre-draft until potentially 2027. Think about that.

I hadn't though of that.... it is going to hamstring them if they need to make trade deadline deals

[freethedevil]

When it comes to Kuzma, I think both teams got the trade that makes the most sense for them. For the Lakers, I think Kuzma is the most important

Nonsense. Kuzma's scoring is something that can easily be replaced by spending the cap space they'll waste on a third star on a collection of shooters. Lonzo's playmaking+ ability to anchor a defence isn't easily replaceable and is the kind of thing that separates championship calibre teams from good ones. The lakers had two-three good-elite passers and a defensive anchor without any spacing. All this cap space they're wasting on a big three could have been used to add 3 and d players to bolster an already elite defence and provide the spacing that would turn rondo and lonzo's elite passing into game changing and open up the paint for lebron's drives(and passing).

ANNNNND if that wasn't enough to win a title(though it very well could have been), they'd have two fa spots with tons of free agents would be happy to join with their new found status as contenders potentially making them outright favorites.

This is why this trade was so silly for la. They traded being on the brink for multiple years for being on the brink for one. Typically shortsighted management.

[BVB24]

SHOCKING REVELATION

(Imagine three top-6 players in the world on one team though.. yuck)

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[Jazz9]

SHOCKING REVELATION

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I just threw up a little in my mouth.
Fortunately it's very unlikely to happen.
Two top 10 players on one team is enough, look elsewhere.

[dautjazz]

Lakers and Houston are both capable of winning the West, especially Houston, but both teams are injury-prone

We could probably say the same about the Sixers..

Only Embiid

Simmons missed more games to injury than Lebron has his entire career. Butler also is also more injury prone than Lebron and just as injury prone as AD.

[HurricaneKid]

Terrible deal for the Lakers wtf

How so? AD's ceiling is a lot higher than any of those young guys .. so even after LeBron's contract, you can build around him.

I don't see Zo or BI becoming top 5 player in the league at any point in time in their careers....

I'm not high on Zo or BI and can't imagine a scenario where either ever becomes a top 5 player. Both ARE very young players whose skills were revered within the past few years though.

The problem is that the Lakers completely mortgaged their future unnecessarily. They will presumably get worse as LeBron ages and the Pels control their picks, UNPROTECTED, in 3, 4, and 5 years from now. And quite possibly in 6 years as well (if they so choose). The presumption that they will always be good when they are currently the worst team in the league over the past 6 years is wildly peculiar.

Its not JUST that they traded 3 1sts. Its that it should have been take the Pels choice with the #4 this year, the 2020, and the 2022. Instead it is the #4 this year, wait a few years until LeBron is older than dirt and give me everything for 4 years.
As Kobe aged and they had to rebuild their picks were 2, 2, 10, 4. That could easily happen again. As could them just getting lucky in the lotto (as they have 3 times in 4 years).

And WHY? Who were they bidding against? Boston wouldn't even include Tatum. NYK dropped out. There were no other bids and they just threw in their entire future.

[inquisitive]

SHOCKING REVELATION

(Imagine three top-6 players in the world on one team though.. yuck)

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thank god kawhi beats to his own drum.

[BVB24]

Don’t buy it.

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[KrAzY3]

Two top 10 players on one team is enough.

Not for LeBron...

[oversteerdawg]

SHOCKING REVELATION

(Imagine three top-6 players in the world on one team though.. yuck)

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thank god kawhi beats to his own drum.

Does he drum to his own beat as well?

[Bhut Jolokia]

Even if the Lakers only have around $24 they will have a great team. They just need a couple guards that can shoot the 3 at high percentage like Beverley and Brogdon.

PG - Beverley (10 mil)
SG - Brogdon (14 mil)
SF - Lebron
PF - Kuzma
C- Davis

[RRyder823]

Even if the Lakers only have around $24 they will have a great team. They just need a couple guards that can shoot the 3 at high percentage like Beverley and Brogdon.

PG - Beverley (10 mil)
SG - Brogdon (14 mil)
SF - Lebron
PF - Kuzma
C- Davis

If Brogdon gets signed to an offer sheet for 14 million the Bucks match before the ink is dry on the contract

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