With few draft picks and little salary cap space to help improve the team for next season, Los Angeles Lakers’ trades are likely the only avenue the team has to get better this offseason. And that may mean dealing their most valuable asset in an Anthony Davis trade.
In fairness to the Lakers, the team got much further in the 2023 NBA Playoffs than it looked like it would when they were 25-31 at the trade deadline. That said, the team definitely hit their ceiling this season, and they aren’t a championship team as currently constituted.
An Anthony Davis trade would bring back the biggest return for the Lakers and could produce a better superstar partner for LeBron James, giving him one final chance to win another NBA title. While there are some realistic Lakers trades that could happen involving AD (Joel Embiid?), that’s no fun at this point in the offseason.
So, let’s look at some unrealistic Anthony Davis trades that are just interesting enough that maybe they’re not so outlandish after all.
Anthony Davis trade to the Spurs for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick
From Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal to Anthony Davis himself, the Lakers have been the home of many of the best big men in NBA history.
In the 2023 NBA Draft, there is a 7-foot-5 unicorn coming from France in the form of Victor Wembanyama. Wouldn’t he look good in a Lakers uniform?
The thought process here is that maybe Gregg Popovich doesn’t want to coach for three-plus more years like he’d have to in order to get another championship shot with “Wemby.” And if the Lakers can offer Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, and sign-and-trades with Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the San Antonio Spurs could have a ready-made playoff team.
It would be nice if the Lakers could also throw in some draft picks, but they are pretty much out of those.
Chances of actually happening: 0/10
Davis goes to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Next on the unrealistic Anthony Davis trade list is the Lakers moving the big man to the Milwaukee Bucks for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While the Lakers outperformed expectations in 2023, the Bucks suffered a brutal first-round loss as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. That cost head coach Mike Budenholzer his job, but it also brought up some Giannis trade rumblings.
The Bucks are a small market team and they could trade Giannis for AD as part of a soft rebuild that gets them out of the luxury tax if they can unload Kris Middleton and Jrue Holiday as well to the Lakers or elsewhere.
It’s not the wildest idea, but if the Bucks do trade their star, it will likely be as part of a massive rebuild where they will be looking for a huge haul of picks in return.
Chances of actually happening: 1/10
Lakers ship Davis to the Mavs for Luka Doncic
The one thing that was clear on the Dallas Mavericks at the end of the 2022-23 season is that Luka Doncic wasn’t happy. He never shared exactly why (*cough* Kyrie Irving *cough*), but he couldn’t contain his unhappiness as the Mavericks crashed out of the playoff picture.
As one of the best seven players in the league right now, if Doncic wants a trade, he could call his shot and demand to go to the Lakers. In that case, getting Anthony Davis back isn’t the worst consolation prize in the world.
Luka and LeBron would be fascinating to watch, and building around AD for the Mavs might actually be easier in many ways than building around such a unique player like Doncic.
Chances of actually happening: 3/10
Davis to the Suns for Kevin Durant
The first move of the Mat Ishbia Era with the Phoenix Suns was trading for Kevin Durant. They wouldn’t trade him again, would they?
Well, Durant didn’t dominate in the 2023 NBA Playoffs like his new team hoped he would, and now the Suns have Chris Paul and KD, who will have a combined age of 72 years old next season.
With LeBron in Last Dance mode, giving him an aging star as a partner actually makes a decent amount of sense, and bonus points if his banana boat buddy CP3 comes along for the ride. For the Suns, an Anthony Davis trade to pair him with 26-year-old Devin Booker could make the team dangerous for several years to come.
While this is still an unrealistic Lakers trade, this one seems like it has more nuggets of truth and makes sense more than any other Davis deal in this list.
Chances of actually happening: 4/10
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