NEW ORLEANS (KATC) – To say the Pelicans traded Anthony Davis to the Lakers for a trio of young players and a few first round picks doesn’t really do the justice now 24-hours later.
The deal cannot be made official until the league year starts on July 6th, but reports suggest New Orleans got much more.
New Orleans swapped Davis for Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball and control of the Lakers’ first round picks until 2025.
Hhere is the breakdown:
Brandon Ingram (SF)
Josh Hart (SG)
Lonzo Ball (PG)
No. 4 pick in 2019 Draft
2021 First round pick with reverse protection (NO Pick if 1-8)
2022 Unprotected first round pick if 2021 pick falls outside top 8
2023 First round pick swap
2024 Unprotected first round pick with right to defer until 202
It’s a substantial haul that stands to get bigger heading into Thursday night’s draft. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting New Orleans may shop the pick rather than draft a player.
Teams are already expressing significant interest in the No. 4 overall pick belonging now to the Pelicans, league sources tell ESPN. Talks are expected to continue over the next few days. This deal could get even bigger for the Pelicans.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2019
Various reports have tied New Orleans to Myles Turner, the center from Indianapolis, the Rockets’ big man Clint Capela and the Wizards’ shooter Bradley Beal. But New Orleans could also target a 2020 first round pick by trading back in the draft with perhaps Chicago, Phoenix or Atlanta.
If the trade happens on July 6th, the start of the NBA league year, Wojnarowski says the Lakers will have just $23.7M in cap space. If the deal is executed after July 30th Los Angeles would have more than $32M, enough to sign another max deal player. According to Woj, league rules allows the Lakers to attach a financial value of around $8M to the draft pick after July 30, as opposed to before where the league views the pick as having no cash value.
