In one of the more well-researched pieces as of late, Clutch Point's Brett Siegel detailed the Anthony Davis trade in totality. From what eventually led to the breakdown between Davis and the Los Angeles front office, to how many different ways the trade could have gone.
Luckily for Lakers fans, they ended up in the best timeline where the Purple and Gold did acquire the 25-year-old Slovenian superstar. According to Siegel, though, there were certainly other outcomes that would not have set the Lakers up for nearly the same level of success.
Lakers reportedly discussed a Davis trade with five other teams
In December of the 2024 season, Rob Pelinka and other Lakers front office members officially began making calls around the league, with Anthony Davis as the topic.
Siegel reports that while the Lakers were not at the point of legitimately wanting to trade Davis in December, they were genuinely curious as to what his value around the league looked like. Their plans were to gauge interest and then revisit those talks with intention after the 2024-25 season.
One anonymous Eastern Conference GM even referred to the initial calls as "laughable" as they truly didn't believe Davis would really be on the table.
When reality started to set in, organizations obviously didn't want this leaked, as they didn't want the rest of the league to know about the deal they could have on their hands. What they didn't account for was Nico Harrison and the Mavericks doing the same.
While the number of teams that held further conversations was five, only three (outside of Dallas) were leaked. Those teams included the Boston Celtics (who showed interest in Davis in the summer of 2019), the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Boston package would've likely included Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and other small assets. It's unclear what the other packages would have looked like, but Davis next to Giannis or alongside Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley would've been a scary sight.
Thankfully for Lakers fans, they definitely got the best possible outcome with Luka Doncic and will be set up for years to come.
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