The Los Angeles Lakers were considered the frontrunners to acquire Anthony Davis in advance of the Feb. 7 trade deadline, but talks with the New Orleans Pelicans have reportedly stalled.
According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, the team’s “outrageous” trade demands became too much for the Lakers, so L.A.’s president of basketball operations Magic Johnson will wait to see if New Orleans is willing to make a counter proposal.
Turner reported late Monday the Lakers were prepared to give up Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope plus two first-round picks in exchange for Davis and forward Solomon Hill.
The Pelicans were reportedly seeking between six and eight draft picks as part of a package to acquire Davis, the first-overall pick from the 2012 NBA Draft.
Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson had also been a part of previous trade proposals.
“If something were to occur with our team, whether it’s him or it’s somebody else throughout the trade deadline, we’ll approach it then,” Lakers star LeBron James told reporters at Tuesday morning’s shoot-around when asked about the ongoing Davis rumours.
The Lakers are thought to be one of four preferred destinations for Davis with the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks the others.
Davis, 25, is considered a consensus top-10 NBA talent. He has the remainder of this season plus the 2019-20 campaign remaining on his current contract.
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