With under three days until the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers remain active with their pursuit to pry Anthony Davis away from the New Orleans Pelicans.
After initially failing to connect, the Lakers and Pelicans reportedly have been engaged in talks over recent days. L.A. was said to have submitted five various proposals but neither impressed New Orleans.
The Lakers have since increased their offer to include Lonzo Ball, Michael Beasley, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and multiple draft picks while also providing salary cap relief in the form of taking on Solomon Hill.
Amid indications the Pelicans are hesitant to work with the Lakers, they can be coaxed into doing so if it means receiving significant draft considerations, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Pels are waiting on Lakers to overwhelm them w/ an historic haul of picks. To Nola, that means Lakers offering 4 first-round and second-round picks as part of a Davis package. Pels want to be compensated – perhaps even overcompensated – to even consider a deal with LA now. https://t.co/Ft8rfe9EBZ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2019
If the Lakers are to add more draft picks to their offer, it presumably would need to come at the cost of removing one member of their young core from the trade.
Meanwhile, as the Pelicans mull over a decision, there’s a growing sense from some within the organization to keep Davis beyond Thursday’s trade deadline. That would allow the Boston Celtics to become involved in the offseason, which general manager Danny Ainge reportedly is lobbying to Dell Demps.
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