Anthony Davis: Lakers told to make Kawhi Leonard move because of Kyle Kuzma

That’s according to Cris Carter of Fox Sports.

With only another three years on his deal in LA, the Lakers know they must build around LeBron as soon as possible to improve their chances of winning a championship.

The illustrious 16-time NBA championship-winning franchise has been linked with free agents such as Leonard, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson while Davis is believed to be a trade target.

They have the max cap space to land any of the free agents who they can attract to southern California but prising Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans would require them to reach a deal which would see them sacrifice multiple assets and picks.

Davis is also of major interest to the Boston Celtics given his generational talents and if the Lakers wanted a superstar pairing of the five-time All-Star and four-time MVP LeBron, they would have to give up some of the young talents they have accrued over the past few years such as Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart.

They were reluctant to do that in the summer when they might have traded for Leonard, who instead was sent from the San Antonio Spurs to the Toronto Raptors despite wanting to return to LA.

And Carter thinks the Lakers should try to keep hold of Kuzma – who dropped a career-high 41 points in just three quarters against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

“Can Kuzma be that third? Because they’re going to get another star,” Carter told First Things First.

“They’re either going to trade for one or they’re going to have Kawhi or someone else come this summer. 

“I believe because he has showed such good on the offensive end, I wouldn’t trade him. 

“That’s what I was worried about last year, they wanted to trade him and Ingram. 

“I was like, ‘No, don’t trade Kuzma!’ I thought he had the potential outside of Lonzo to be the best pro. 

“I’m trying to keep him out of that deal but even if you want Anthony Davis, it’s pretty much – hold your hands up.” 

Fellow Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright added of a possible deal for Davis: “You’ve got to include a blue-chipper. You’re going to be getting a top-five player in the league. 

“Kuzma is a guy who has elevated himself over No 2 pick of the draft Lonzo, No 2 pick of the draft Ingram as the blue-chipper.”

Paul Pierce, meanwhile, believes the Lakers or the Celtics’ title chances would receive a major boost if they were to land Davis. 

He exclusively told Express Sport: “But both of them teams could use a player like him if they want to get over the hump and make it to the championship.

“To win a championship, he could be the X-factor. If something like that happens that happens they have got a good shot.”