Report: Lakers expected to make immediate push for Davis

The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to make an aggressive play to acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans before next week’s trade deadline, ESPN reported Tuesday.

Jan 18, 2019; Portland, OR, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) passes the ball during the first half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

The Lakers are poised to reach out to New Orleans’ brass soon, but the Pelicans made it clear Monday that they are in no rush to deal Davis, saying, “we will do this on our timeline.”

The trade deadline is Feb. 7.

Per the ESPN report, the Lakers are willing to part with a combination of picks and players, including Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball to acquire Davis.

The Lakers reportedly will have competition from the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, both of whom are preparing offers. However, the Celtics are unable to acquire Davis until after July 1 due to a roster restriction in the CBA that prevents teams from having more than one “Rose Rule” players acquired via trade, and Boston acquired Kyrie Irving from Cleveland in 2017.

Davis’ agent Rich Paul informed the club this past weekend that Davis would not sign an extension and wants to be traded.

Davis signed a five-year, $127 million contract before the 2016-17 season. The fifth year is a player option, so Davis could become a free agent in the summer of 2020. He would have been eligible to sign a five-year, $240 million supermax extension this summer, but has eschewed that in order to win and play for a big-market team.

The Pelicans selected Davis with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. He has been named first-team All-NBA three times and has appeared in five All-Star games. He turns 26 in March.

Davis is averaging 29.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game this season. He has missed the past four games with a fractured left index finger.

—Field Level Media

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source: reuters.com