At this point in the season, it isn't looking very good for the Los Angeles Lakers. This team is likely going to squeeze their way into the playoffs but quite frankly, they do not look like a squad that's going to win it all this year.

In the mind of ESPN's NBA insider Stephen A. Smith, it is now time for the Lakers to look beyond this season. According to the renowned broadcaster, LA's front office must now seriously consider the prospect of parting ways with Anthony Davis this summer:

“Ladies and gentlemen we gotta talk about the Lakers beyond this season,” Smith said. “They have to trade Anthony Davis. You don't keep Anthony Davis. Here's why: because his value is his value as a player, but durability is a question mark at age 28. As you get older those durability questions are going to be more prevalent. So when you think about his stock being as high as it's going to be, isn't that right now?”

This is yet another audacious take from Stephen A, but to be fair, he's not completely wrong here. Davis' myriad of injuries throughout his career has been well-documented and Smith makes a valid point of AD being at his peak right now. From this point, there's nowhere for him to go but down.

Smith then argues that this notion all stems from the fact that the Lakers must make the most out of LeBron James' last few remaining prime years:

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“If you're looking at LeBron James and the fact that you need additional pieces, I gotta say, Anthony Davis is the guy that you can get a lot for in return potentially because of his potential,” Smith concluded.

The one thing that was established out of the Lakers' lack of activity prior to last week's trade deadline is that they do not have too many assets at their disposal. This will absolutely change if the front office decided to put Anthony Davis on the trade block.

Alongside LeBron, AD has already won a title with the Lakers. One could say that it's mission accomplished for Davis in Hollywood. Is it time to blow this tandem up? Stephen A definitely seems to think so.