It appears Anthony Davis will survive his turn through the rumor wringer.
In an extensive feature on the Los Angeles Lakers published on Thursday, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported that the Lakers are not considering trading their eight-time All-Star big Davis. Haynes adds that Davis’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, has not received calls from interested teams about AD's potential willingness to sign an extension with them either, indicating that trade talks have been a total non-starter.
Falling to 2-9 on the season with their latest loss on Wednesday to the rival L.A. Clippers, the Lakers are swimming with the sewer alligators right now. It is clear that some dramatic roster moves are needed for them pronto. But LeBron James, who remains the franchise cornerstone at nearly 38 years old, is not going anywhere. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook has gotten his trade value out of the basement and onto the basement steps with a solid run off the bench in recent games (even though that is still not saying much).
That leaves Davis, who would be the best and most realistic trade asset for the Lakers if they were to go that route. Because of his unassertive play and general lack of availability due to injuries (even though he has played in all but one game so far this season), Davis is growing a bit stale in Los Angeles, at least as a supposed superstar. But and a healthy and engaged Davis is still a top-10 big man in the NBA, and this may be the last chance for the Lakers to maximize their return for him before Davis turns 30 next March.
Nevertheless, Haynes’ report makes clear that trading Davis is not an option right now for the Lakers. We will see if they come off that stance, however, in order to make this reported roster dream of theirs come true.
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