During the 2019 offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers were coming off their first season with LeBron James in town. It quick became clear that another star was needed to accompany James, and Anthony Davis would become that player.
When it came to trading for a superstar, L.A. had to part ways with young prospects like Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram. After years of tanking since Kobe Bryant’s retirement, the Lakers finally began to turn a corner by signing James and trading for Davis.
In particular with Ball, he would play two seasons in New Orleans before departing for the Chicago Bulls. Now, five years removed from this blockbuster trade, Ball shared that there are no hard feelings and admitted that he would trade himself for Davis, via The WAE Show:
“I mean, we know what happened when we was walking through the hallways. We were told one thing. That’s the first time that I realized that this is definitely a business, you know? But, at the same time, it was like it’s Anthony Davis. A part of me was like, I mean, to be fair, I would have traded myself for Anthony Davis.”
At the end of the day, front offices have to make tough decisions and that comes into focus when an opportunity presents itself to catapult a franchise, like the Lakers, into championship contention once again. For Ball to be traded from his hometown after playing in front of his family with all these expectations must have been hard.
However, this gamble would pay off for the Lakers as they won a championship in their first season with a James and Davis duo. While the four-time champion in James created some fun moments with Ball, Ingram and Hart during his first season with the purple and gold, historically, he needs veterans around him to win at a high level.
Now, Hart is thriving as a sixth man with the New York Knicks, Ingram is a former All-Star with New Orleans who may be traded once again and Ball is recovering from knee surgery with the Bulls. So L.A. could look at this Davis trade as a huge win with the Pelicans still looking to win their first playoff series since that 2019 deal.
Anthony Davis believes Kawhi Leonard is funniest player on Team USA
As the Paris Olympics kick off this summer, Anthony Davis is representing his country along with other NBA stars. With training camp underway in Las Vegas, Davis believes that L.A. Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is the funniest player on Team USA.