That is the view of NBA expert Tas Melas.
Davis was caught on camera smirking after James hit a corner three fadeaway on Wednesday night in the dying moments of the game.
The Pelicans star was rested for the fourth quarter as his minutes have been severely reduced by the franchise.
Back in January, Davis demanded a trade and told the Pelicans he would not sign the supermax contract he will be due this summer.
However, he was unable to secure a move away, despite the Lakers making several trade offers to the Pelicans.
And since the All Star break, Davis’ minutes were reduced by the Pelicans, and he was told he would not play back-to-back games and would be rested for the fourth quarter of games.
Against the Lakers, he scored 22 points in 21 minutes, and was rested for the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, while Davis was on the bench, James hit a perfect clutch three-pointer while turning away on one leg, and the camera immediately cut to Davis trying to hide his smirk.
Melas explained on The Starters podcast that he knew immediately that Davis would be heading to the Lakers in the summer after he saw that moment.
“I knew this Anthony Davis minutes restriction was coming, we all did,” he said.
“But to see it actually makes my stomach churn.
“I’d rather sort of be out of sight out of mind with him, if I was a Pelicans fan.
“Because I don’t like seeing 20 minutes of play from this All-World talent, and then he just goes and sits.
“It’s just rubbing it in their faces.
“I would rather the Pelicans just sit him.
“A lot of times we see them play really well when they just sit him, like we just said [referring to Pelicans beating Lakers on Saturday].
“It’s just really really hard to watch.
“If there’s any moment that convinced me he was going to LA, it’s that moment. It was movie-like.”