Los Angeles Lakers: Ivica Zubac trade could be a prelude to Anthony Davis

Los Angeles Lakers fans were upset with the team trading Ivica Zubac and not trading for Anthony Davis. Perhaps the former is setting up the latter.

The Los Angeles Lakers made two trades during the NBA Trade Deadline and neither were for superstar Anthony Davis, as fans of the team had hoped.

The first was actually a great trade by the Lakers. Los Angeles sent Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and a second-round pick to the Detroit Pistons for Reggie Bullock. Mykhailiuk was a sharpshooter in the making but was not ready to contribute just yet. Bullock is a sharpshooter than will contribute.

The second trade did not sit as well with the fans. The Lakers traded Ivica Zubac and Michael Beasley to the Los Angeles Clippers for Mike Muscala.

Muscala also adds shooting to the Lakers but it was the addition of Zubac, who has really become a huge fan favorite over the last six weeks, that Laker fans questioned. This trade also opened up a roster spot, which seemed to be the biggest motive for making it, which could lead to Carmelo Anthony.

We have already made our case of why trading Zubac is not as bad as you might think. Instead of rehashing all of the same points, you can read why below.

However, one thing that we did not really think of until today is how the Zubac trade could be a prelude to Anthony Davis being acquired in the summer.

How would trading a backup center amount to the Los Angeles Lakers eventually landing Anthony Davis? Well, just look at the rest of the roster.

The Lakers have somewhat decent depth at center right now. The team has two veterans in JaVale McGee and Tyson Chandler that can split most of the traditional center minutes that don’t have to be on the court when the Lakers are running a smaller lineup.

The team also has Moritz Wagner. However, although Wagner has promise, he still is only averaging 6.9 minutes and 3.5 points per game and does not even play every game.

Both McGee and Chandler are on expiring deals and there is no guarantee that either of the veterans will come back next season, let alone play. That leaves Wagner as the team’s only long-term center and he has not proven anything to be a starting center on a title-contending team.

I find it very hard to believe that Magic Johnson would trust a second-year center with virtually no experience without seeing if he can hang first.

You could make the case for the Lakers picking up a center in the 2019 NBA Draft but that center is just going to be a mid-to-late first-round pick and won’t be ready to contribute right away to a title-contending team.

So what is the Lakers’ plan? There are options in free agency in 2019. DeAndre Jordan, Enes Kanter and Nikola Vucevic are the three best options in free agency.

None of those guys really push the Lakers over the top to being true contenders for the title and signing any of those guys would not leave enough cap space to sign Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving or whoever the Lakers want to bring in alongside James.

And while the Lakers can go the same route as this season and get a veteran on the minimum, you would think that the team would keep Zubac around to retain the depth. The Lakers easily could have made the same trade with the Clippers for Wagner and Beasley.

There is a reason that the Lakers traded the restricted free agent, Zubac. It is because the team struck out on the Anthony Davis deal and could not include Zubac in discussions in the summer unless it was a sign and trade.

The Lakers traded Zubac knowing that the front office was going to make another run for Davis in the offseason and that the Boston Celtics do not have as much buying power as they like to think.

They knew that they were going to get a center that plays 35+ minutes per night. So instead of holding onto the restricted free agent and either paying him too much to play 12 minutes per game or letting him walk, the team got something out of him.

It might not be much, but the Lakers needed shooting and that open roster spot could play a big role in the playoff push.

It might seem far-fetched and the way things are happening I would not bank on it until it actually happens either. However, come July, we all could be looking back at the Ivica Zubac trade if the Los Angeles Lakers land Anthony Davis.