The sudden news Anthony Davis will miss at least a month with his latest injury may finally force Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office to make a life or death decision about the team’s prospects of winning this season.
While Davis’ injury was not season or career ending, it throws a monkey wrench into the Lakers’ plans to wait two to four weeks before deciding whether to trade Russell Westbrook and their two first round picks.
The Lakers desperately needed to trade for more size and shooting before Davis’ injury. Now with him out for a month, the Lakers could be forced to move now and finding a starting center has suddenly become a priority.
It’s hard to be optimistic when bad luck happen but there are too many promising signs, including Davis’ MVP caliber play and James’ continued dominance, for Rob Pelinka and the Lakers to give up on this season.
The front office has been rightfully reluctant to trade their two available first round draft picks or to give up the standard protections but they need to rethink their trade strategies now or this season is dead and gone.
With AD likely to miss a month to a month and a half or around a fourth of the season, the Lakers have no more time to waste looking for a miracle trade to suddenly appear that gifts them with a third or fourth superstar.
Now reality has arrived and they have no viable option other than to go all-in to save a season where Anthony Davis and LeBron James have shown they still are the best superstar duo in the world. They just need help.
With a heathy AD and LeBron, this team has championship potential. The Lakers must go all-in and trade their two unprotected picks to upgrade the roster to survive Anthony Davis’ injury and win their 18th championship.
Why Lakers Need to Go All-In to Win Right Now
The Lakers no longer have the luxury of waiting. They need a major influx of size, shooting, and defense now or this season is lost like the last two. Going ‘All-In’ means trading anyone but LeBron and AD and doing it now.
The big win against the Nuggets with just 17 minutes of a hobbled Davis is far more likely going to be the outlier rather than the rule going forward and the last thing the Lakers want is to wear out 37-year old LeBron James.
Early in the year, the front office questioned whether a healthy James and Davis was still the slam dunk it was in the bubble. Nobody was asking that question after the Lakers dominated the Bucks. There is no more doubt.
Knowing the Lakers though, the question likely morphed to ‘could they get by and still create a contender by trading just one of the picks?’ That’s the problem when you’re always trying to have your cake and eat it too.
In a way, the Davis injury could end up being a blessing for the Lakers much like the Covid break was when they won the Bubble Championship. Most importantly, it forces the Lakers to trade now rather than waiting.
Imagine a month of Bryant and a 38-year old James manning center and trying to win the uphill battle for the boards and points in the paint, the only way the Lakers have compensated for their poor 3-point shooting.
The Lakers will be lucky to have a third of the season left by the time Anthony Davis is back on the court. They cannot afford to be in 12th in the West at that point in time. They need major help right now to survive.
Know that James and Davis can play championship basketball, the Lakers must move immediately and decisively to add size, shooting, and defense to help survive AD’s injury and win their 18th NBA championship.
Why Lakers Need to Trade for Starting Center
One of the Lakers greatest needs before Davis’ injury was for a backup center who could stretch the floor and protect the rim when Anthony Davis was on the bench and provide insurance in the event AD was injured.
Frankly, Davis’ injury should not have been a surprise to the Lakers and if their trade strategies before did not properly reflect the importance of having a starting quality backup for AD, then they certainly do right now.
Frankly, having a great backup for both James and Davis should be an essential goal of whatever roster makeover they new engage in. It’s the smart and savvy move for the Lakers to make. That’s now totally clear.
What’s interesting is there are three trade possibilities that immediately jump out for the Lakers with Anthony Davis injured. Those three teams are the Indian Pacers, the Washington Wizards, and the San Antonio Spurs.
Those teams should expect an call from Rob Pelinka. The Lakers need a trade or trades that include a quality starting center like Myles Turner, Kristaps Porzingis, or Jakob Poeltl to hold down the fort until AD returns.
Ideally, that center will give the Lakers the versatility to go jumbo big with him and AD starting together or small-ball-on-steroids with AD and Bron as well as providing insurance in the event that Anthony Davis is injured.
While that may not make sense in the salary dedicated to a single position, it could be the smartest move the Lakers could make in the long term. Optimizing Anthony Davis is the key to the future for the Lakers.
The Lakers need to rethink their trade priorities and make sure to include a starting quality center as part of what they need back in any series of trades they decide to make to survive until AD returns and compete to win.
Silver Linings for Lakers in Anthony Davis’ Injury
While the sudden news Anthony Davis will miss at least a month due to his latest foot injury cast a dark cloud over a third straight Lakers’ season, there are some silver linings for the Lakers from AD’s injury.
First and foremost, the injury is not a season or career ending injury. In fact, before the injury, Anthony Davis was playing like the best player in the entire NBA, which is something the Lakers’ need to remember and value.
Second, the time that Davis gets while recovering from the foot injury could result in his being fresher and having more energy and stamina in the playoffs like he did after the Covid break in the bubble championship.
Third, the Davis injury should finally force the indecisive Lakers’ front office to finally act rather than wasting time hoping for some sudden superstar to demand to be traded to the Lakers. No more time to wait.
Finally, and this might be the most important, the Davis injury should refocus the front office on looking for a starting quality center to backup Anthony and enable the Lakers to go jumbo big with two 7-footers.
The Lakers have played 28 of the 82 games in the regular season, which is just over one third of the season. Davis is likely to miss between a month and a month and a half. That will take him well past the half way mark.
The Lakers need to survive the next 17 to 23 games without Anthony Davis, which means Rob Pelinka is going to have to move fast and decisively if the Lakers want any chance to keep this season and hopes for #18 alive.
Unfortunately, acting quickly and decisively has not been one of Pelinka’s strengths since assuming control of the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office. Let’s hope the direness of the Lakers current situation changes that.
The trade that might be interesting and possible could be with the Tommy Shephard and the Washington Wizards for Kuzma and Porzingis. That’s the kind of trade that would be great until AD returns and offers great matchup versatility with the ability to go double bigs or super small.
Comes down to taking off the protections on at least one of the picks to get any team interested. Hard to throw away the season and wearing out LeBron to stay alive doesn’t seem like a viable option. Lakers need to make a trade and it needs to include Russ. There’s no other way at this point.
Trading for Kuzma and Porzingis is the one that intrigues me the most. That is a no brainer.
It’s a trade that would be great now and after AD returned. Solves a lot of our needs and we would still have Beverley and Nunn to trade but no pick to go with it but there might be contracts worth taking back to save some team money. I like the Kuzma and Porzingis trade. And Rob and Tommy know each other. Tommy would be the first person I called if I were Rob.
Yup, you got it, Tom!
I doubt that trade as much as I would like it too, will happen. The only reason Kuzma is on the market is because he said is opting out and wants a bigger market. He’s not coming back. Porzingas also has an option but it’s doubtful that he will come close to 37 mil. He’s been better but not that much better. I doubt they extended Beal to blow it up and completely rebuild.
I agree it’s a long shot. But if there’s a trade to be made, this might be it. It gets them something for Kuza who’s gone and out of Kristap’s contract for two possible top-5 picks. Of course, Lakers won’t offer that but it would be worth it for them.
I don’t have any confidence Pelinka will do anything unless something falls into his lap. Considering AD’s injury, calling Tommy Shephard should be the first thing Rob does. In the end, unless the Lakers make at least one of the picks unprotected, they won’t find a deal to keep them afloat while AD recovers.
It should not have been a major surprise that we need a starter quality backup for AD. It’s why Turner always made sense. Anyway, Rob and Jeanie will spin this as a reason to stand pat. Can’t wait to see
Except for those times when Porzy and AD are both on the shelf being 14′ of useless.