Los Angeles Lakers absolutely nailed the Anthony Davis package

The Los Angeles Lakers broke the NBA community a day before Father’s Day with the bombshell that the team finally traded for superstar Anthony Davis.

The move that fans of the Los Angeles Lakers had been waiting for finally happened on Saturday. After two years of promise and speculation that the Lakers would field a dynamic superstar duo, the front office completed that task with a massive trade.

The Los Angeles Lakers traded for superstar Anthony Davis, who demanded a trade at midseason with the Pelicans and now joins his Klutch Sports Group buddy, LeBron James, as the duo looks to win a title.

The Lakers now boast a “big three” of LeBron, Davis and Kyle Kuzma. To land Davis, the Lakers sent the New Orleans Pelicans Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks.

There still are a select group of Laker fans that are frustrated that Ball, Ingram and Hart are being shipped away. It is understandable, fans get attached to the players and overvalue them, thus not wanting to see them leave. However, as it has always been in every major sport, you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t with these trades.

There is always going to be a portion of the fanbase that takes exception to what the team does, that is just the law of the land. And while even I am a huge Lonzo Ball fan going back to his days at Chino Hills High School, it is hard to argue what the Lakers sent the Pelicans.

Ingram and Ball are both very talented and have high projections but losing them is not as drastic as it seems. First of all, Ingram is going to be a restricted free agent after this season and there was the realistic chance that another team was going to offer him an absurd contract that the Lakers could not match.

A lot of fans are ignoring this point and there was already the possibility that this was Ingram’s last year in LA. When you take that into account, it suddenly becomes easier to swallow.

In Ball’s case, he is the piece that the team is going to have to adjust without. His abilities as a defender and his presence in orchestrating the offense are special and certainly is something that is going to be extremely fun to watch in New Orleans.

However, by trading both Ingram and Ball, the Lakers still have $33 million in cap space and can fill out that loss in free agent, whether it be a third star like Kemba Walker or multiple pieces to fill out the rotation.

Josh Hart is a solid player but he is nothing more than a solid rotational piece right now. He has his nights where he looks incredible but he also has his nights where he disappears. The Lakers can find a replacement for him.

And finally, the draft picks, which gets a little confusing. The Los Angeles Lakers are sending the fourth overall pick this year, their 2021 first-round pick if it is in the top-eight (if not it defers to an unprotected pick in 2022), an unprotected pick swap in 2023 and an unprotected pick in 2024 that New Orleans can defer to 2025 if it is not as high as pleased.

That sounds like a lot but quite frankly, the Lakers set it up nicely where they are not losing that much. They are trading a pick this year that they just lucked into, maintained a pick next year, and will have a pick in either 2021 or 2022.

So the Lakers have a pick in two of the three next drafts after 2019, that is not bad. They still get a pick in 2023, it will just be the lower of the two, and then only have to give up one pick after that.

It might sound scary and you might instantly hate it because of how many picks are involved but from 2020-2025 they will still have four of their six selections. Rob Pelinka was very savvy in the picks that the Lakers are sending.

Overall, while it is a pretty penny, it is a pretty penny that is undoubtedly worth it for the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, even before their next move, winning the NBA Championship is a legitimate and realistic goal next season.