NBA rumors: Pelicans agree to trade All-Star Anthony Davis to Lakers

Anthony Davis is on his way to LA.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday that the New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to trade the All-Star center to the Los Angeles Lakers for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round draft picks.

The Pelicans have agreed to a deal to trade Anthony Davis to the Lakers for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks – including the No. 4 overall in 2019 Draft, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2019

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The Pelicans will get the following picks from the Lakers, league sources tell ESPN:

No. 4 pick in 2019
Top-8 protected in 2021, becomes unprotected in ‘22
Unprotected swap in ‘23
Unprotected first in ‘24
Unprotected swap in ‘25

Tremendous haul for David Griffin & the Pelicans.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) June 16, 2019

LA is where Davis seemingly wanted to end up all along, and he got his wish.

Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that the Pelicans had engaged with the Lakers and the Celtics in separate trade talks. It took three days after that for New Orleans and LA to reach an agreement.

The New York Times' Marc Stein reported Saturday that Boston wouldn't trade Jayson Tatum, stalling those talks.

The Boston Celtics refused to make Jayson Tatum available in trade talks with New Orleans, league sources say, putting the Lakers in prime position to strike the deal that teams Anthony Davis with LeBron James
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 15, 2019

Davis, a three-time All-NBA performer, has one year left on his contract and a player option for the 2020-21 season, but he is expected to decline that and become a free agent next summer.

The Pelicans didn't want to trade Davis to the Lakers during the season, but with new general manager David Griffin at the helm, that all changed. The package heading back to the Pelicans includes the No. 4 overall pick in next week's 2019 NBA Draft, and Wojnarowski reported that also could be traded.

Teams are already expressing significant interest in the No. 4 overall pick belonging now to the Pelicans, league sources tell ESPN. Talks are expected to continue over the next few days. This deal could get even bigger for the Pelicans.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2019

New Orleans already holds the No. 1 overall selection and is expected to take Duke star Zion Williamson.

With the Warriors likely not contending for a title in 2019-20 because of the injuries to Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, the Lakers sensed their chance to pounce — and pounce they did. Adding Davis to LeBron makes the Lakers instant NBA title contenders.

The updated NBA championship winner odds from @SuperBookUSA.
LAL 3/1
Mil 6/1
LAC 7/1
Hou 8/1
Tor 10/1
GS, Phi 12/1
Bos, Den 16/1
OKC 20/1
Bkn 25/1
Utah, Por 30/1
Dal 40/1
NY 50/1
SA, Ind, NO 60/1
Orl, Atl 80/1
Mem, Chi, Sac, Phx 100/1
Det, Cha, Mia, Wsh, Cle, Min 200/1
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) June 15, 2019

They also didn't have to include Kyle Kuzma in the deal, which was key.

The next step is finding a point guard to replace Ball, and it appears the Lakers have their eyes on free agent Kemba Walker.

Kemba Walker will be a top target in free agency for the Lakers after they reached an agreement in principle to trade for Anthony Davis, according to league sources
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 15, 2019

The Warriors will get the first shot at the new-look Lakers as the teams will play the first preseason game at Chase Center on Oct. 5.