The Los Angeles Lakers’ decision to acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans paid immediate dividends. Although they gave up a ton for the talented big man, he won the franchise a championship in his first season with the team.
Unfortunately, it has been downhill ever since.
Davis has been hurt for a significant chunk of time in each of the past two seasons and L.A. has performed progressively worse and worse each year. This has led many to wonder if perhaps the Lakers made a mistake adding him in the first place.
This week, Colin Cowherd revealed that the Los Angeles Clippers took a serious look at Davis when he was on the market, but ultimately passed for several reasons.
“I had a good source inside the Clippers that told me when A.D. was on the market, they didn’t think he was (a) a leader or (b) tough,” Cowherd said.
“They thought he was gifted. And they didn’t think he would play through injuries. They didn’t think he worked out enough. … The idea was everybody loved A.D., and the Clippers have a very deep roster, very shrewd front office. They didn’t love him. And their takeaway was he has to be led. He can’t lead.”
Yikes.
This is shaping up to be an interesting next few months. Heading into the summer, trade rumors surrounding Davis are continuing to intensify.
And given that Davis isn’t on the best of terms with some of his teammates, a change of scenery may make sense for all parties involved.
The chatter has gotten so loud that even Davis himself had to address it this past week.
It goes without saying that if Russell Westbrook ultimately gets dealt to one of the four teams that apparently have interest in him, all this is moot. Davis, LeBron James and a retooled Lakers roster can compete for a title.
Now that’s how you reward a man for making the playoffs. https://t.co/oG6QSemhCE
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 14, 2022
But if Westbrook returns, there’s no reason to assume he and Davis will experience any more success next year than they did this one.
And if that’s the case, expect for the trade talks surrounding Davis to grow even more serious.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
