This season, the Lakers played a dismal start to the season, only 3-10 as of November 15, Beijing time, the second lowest in the West, but the team's first-round draft dominance in the next 4 years is not in their hands, which means that it is likely that next year's "Spider-Man" Wenbanyama will not be selected, and the existing news has come out, the Lakers are afraid that the French big man will be selected by the Pelicans.
According to well-known journalist Marc Stein, the Lakers are "obviously afraid" of the Pelicans to choose Wen Banyama, and the Pelicans currently hold the exchange right for the 2023 Lakers' first-round pick, if the season ends today, the Lakers are very likely to draw the top 4 picks, which also greatly increases the Pelicans' chances of selecting Wenbanyama.
The Lakers came to Anthony in a 2019 trade from the Pelicans. Davis, and successfully won the championship in 2020, the Pelicans have gradually established the core of the team in recent years, including Ingram, Zion Williamson, C.J. McCollum and others obtained from the Lakers, and the Pelicans can still choose whether to take the Lakers' first-round picks in 2024 and 2025.
The Bleacher Report notes that after the Lakers entered the "post-James" era, Anthony Smith. Davis gradually showed that he is just a deputy, not an indicator star who can take the purple gold torch, it seems that the Lakers Pelicans trade case, the Lakers are successful in the short term, and the Pelicans have become long-term winners, in other words, the Lakers top management is afraid not only of losing the Wenbanyama, but also of the catastrophic reality that cannot be strengthened by the draft in the short term, so the news that the Lakers will trade Davis.
According to Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz, the Atlanta Hawks are already in talks with the Los Angeles Lakers about trading Davis. It is reported that the trade chips given by the Atlanta Hawks are also full of sincerity. Whether the trade can be successful depends on the opinions of Lakers coach Pelinka and star James.
The trade chips given by the Atlanta Hawks are: the Lakers get John Collins, Onica Okonvu, Justin Holloday, a first-round pick in 2023, a 5-round first round pick in 2024, and the Atlanta Hawks get Anthony Davis.
The 25-year-old is a balanced offensive and defensive player who shoots 37.2 percent from three-point range in his career, averaging 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and alongside LeBron James, he can once again average 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Okongu, a native of Los Angeles and a graduate of the University of Southern California, will be the Lakers' starting center with elite-level defensive potential. This season, the 21-year-old averaged 15.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 36 minutes per game, shooting 67.2 percent from the field.
Davis is prone to injury, but it's clear that the superstar striker is still a generation of talent when he plays at his best. In the recent Lakers' 103-116 win over the Brooklyn Nets, Davis was unstoppable, contributing 37 points, 18 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 60 percent from the field. Unfortunately, the Lakers don't currently have any significant trade assets other than draft picks, so taking advantage of Davis' current level of performance may be their best chance to strike a big deal without collateralizing the future. The offer allows the Lakers to retain their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, widely considered the team's best trade asset, allowing them to remain liquid as they look further for potential trades.