Lakers News: How Open Are The Lakers To Moving On From Anthony Davis?

After The Ringer's Bill Simmons revealed that there was "buzz" suggesting maximum-salaried Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis could be available via trade, Lakers fans expressed hope that he could be moved.

Lakers 248's Doug McKain thinks that Davis, despite his injury history, remains worth retaining for Los Angeles, and opines that a Davis deal would essentially signify a willingness from L.A. to tear down the entire roster and expedite a rebuild.

"He's still putting up numbers like a top 10-15 player," McKain says. "He still is showing flashes of brilliance on the defensive end. Just look at the Pelicans game, his ability to switch, his ability to guard CJ McCollum in that one I thought was fantastic. So you still see those flashes but he doesn't act like a true big man. He has added a lot of weight, so that's kind of taken away [from] his agility out there... The bottom line with Anthony Davis is he just can't stay healthy, and that is the big issue with him. If you could guarantee his health, this wouldn't be a topic of conversation... If you're gonna trade Anthony Davis, you have to blow this thing up, you have to go into a down-to-the-studs rebuild instead of trying to plug these holes on the sinking ship.

"But look, let's be honest: that is not the Lakers' way. They're gonna continue to try to chase a championship as long as they think they have a punchers' chance. If you have a healthy Anthony Davis, a healthy LeBron James, you work on some of those pieces around the margins. Maybe you do try to keep Russell Westbrook because he has been fantastic coming off the bench. If he continues to play like this he's gonna be a lock to win Sixth Man of the Year."

You can't win Sixth Man of the Year if your team wins 25 games. As currently comprised, this L.A. franchise just does not seem to have the two-way personnel capable of winning enough regular season contests to even reach the play-in tournament. The Lakers just can't beat anybody right now. The club's 2-9 record speaks to that. A trade of Westbrook, who is performing well in the role he is best-suited to now, could be an excellent avenue for Los Angeles to surround its best players with higher-level role-playing depth. His egregious $47.1 million expiring contract for the season inhibited just what caliber of player team vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka was able to add during the summer.

McKain makes a solid point, that L.A. could look to trade the contracts of, say, disappointing guards Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn (totaling about $18.3 million this year) for a piece before resorting to a Westbrook deal, but L.A. would absolutely need to affix some solid draft equity to such a transaction, probably at least one of its highly-coveted two available future first-round draft picks.

In terms of the health of Davis and James, that duo has been playing through injuries since the 2022 preseason! When will they ever, truly be healthy? Yes, players usually accrue minor injuries as the grind of an 82-game regular season wears on, but the fact that we're concerned about these lingering issues for both players (a sore lower back for Davis, a sore left foot and now an adductor strain for James) is a testament to both players' unreliability at this point in their storied careers.

Davis is averaging a very solid 23 points per game on 54.1% shooting, 10.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.4 steals per.

Whether the Lakers want to admit it or not, they're not going to even be in the postseason without a pretty major shakeup. Should they be open to moving on from Davis, in service of surrounding James with higher-quality role players than would perhaps otherwise be available (i.e. in a Westbrook or Beverley/Nunn deal)? Absolutely.