Anthony Davis’ first season with the Los Angeles Lakers went about as well as anyone could have expected. The eight-time All-Star, playing through a pandamic-related work stoppage, dominated on both ends of the court.
Teaming up with LeBron James and a veteran roster, he also helped propel Los Angeles to the NBA title in the Orlando Bubble.
Since then, it’s been all sorts of a disastrous for AD and his Lakers. The star big man missed 36 games to injury last season, leading to to a first-round exit in the NBA Playoffs.
It has not been any better for Anthony Davis and his Los Angeles Lakers in 2021-22. They currently sit at a mediocre 17-16 and as the seventh seed out west.
This team doesn’t even come close to comparing to top teams in that conference in that of the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz — all of whom would likely run roughshod over the veteran and aging Lakers in the NBA Playoffs. For his part, Davis is sidelined again. This time, for at least the next month due to a sprained MCL.
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Los Angeles Lakers have to consider Anthony Davis trade
The pairing of King James and AD just doesn’t seem to be indicitive of success out west as the former enters the twilight years of his playing days. Add in Russell Westbrook, and there’s a huge issue with spacing in Los Angeles. That’s represented in the team’s three-point numbers thus far this season.
Los Angeles Lakers three-point shooting
- LeBron James: 35%
- Russell Westbrook: 31%
- Anthony Davis: 18%
Remember when AD was hitting on a good 40% of his treys in the Orlando bubble? That seems like eons ago. He shot just 26% from distance last season. Having two of your top three scorers struggle in such a manner from long range doesn’t work in today’s NBA.
Just look at the three teams we mentioned above as it relates to shooting from distance.
- Warriors: Andrew Wiggins (42%), Stephen Curry (40%), Jordan Poole (34%)
- Suns: Devin Booker (40%), Mikal Bridges (41%), Chris Paul (34%)
- Jazz: Mike Conley (44%), Bojan Bogdanović (43%), Donovan Mitchell (34%)
Among those teams’ worst three-point shooters who are relied on to score, they matchup with LeBron James. He represents the Lakers’ best option from distance among their top scorers. That’s worrisome.
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Regression on the part of Anthony Davis
At 28-year-old, it’s hard to imagine AD somehow turning into a better player than he is now. That is to say, a solid All-Star player without ever having hit that elite status. His statistical regression since joining an actual playoff-caliber team back in 2019 adds another layer to this.
- Anthony Davis stats (w/ Pelicans final 3 seasons): 27.5 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.4 SPG
- Anthony Davis stats (w/ Lakers): 24.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.3 SPG
It’s easier to put up numbers for a team that continues to miss the playoffs. Remember, New Orleans earned a postseason appearance just once in Davis’ seven seasons with the team. That resulted in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Golden State Warriors back in 2014-15.
The last thing LeBron James needs with the Lakers is a co-running partner who has a skill-set that’s regressing. Since the start of last season, that’s exactly what we’ve seen with Davis.
Related: Find out where Anthony Davis ranks among NBA’s top-50 players
Anthony Davis trade market, better fit for the Los Angeles Lakers
There’s a reason why NBA insider Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer floated the idea of a potential Davis trade this coming summer in passing. There’s a lot of layers to it — some of which would benefit the Lakers a great deal.
First off, there’s a number of teams who would gladly take on Davis’ star appeal as a way to become relevant on the broader NBA stage once again. Larger-market teams such as the New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers all come to mind. In short, Davis still has a trade market.
On that same note, there’s better fits for the Lakers as they enter the heyday of James’ career in Southern California. These players would represent better short-term fix to team up with AD while potentially enabling the Lakers to remain competitive once King James calls it quits.
It’s a pure hypothetical on our part, but someone like Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown with the Celtics might make sense moving forward. As for the other teams mentioned above, Ben Simmons remains a holdout from the 76ers and will be traded at some point before next season.
Either way we spin it, there are a vast number of options for Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka moving forward. At the very least, the idea of trading Anthony Davis shouldn’t be thrown out the window altogether.