Though an agreement had been reached nearly a month ago, the Los Angeles Lakers recently made official their historic deal to trade for Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for a collection of young players and draft picks.
Davis, still just 26-years-old, brings with him to Los Angeles an impressive résumé that includes six NBA All-Star appearances, three All-NBA First Team selections, and 2018 NBA All-Defensive First Team honors. He is coming off a tremendous season with the Pelicans in which he averaged 25.9 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 54 games.
Davis will now team up with LeBron James and form one of the most fearsome duos in all of basketball. He is thrilled to share the court with his longtime friend and hopes to absorb as much knowledge from him as possible.
Davis is looking forward to the next chapter of his career as a member of the Lakers and hopes to elevate his game to another level with the franchise, according to Alaa Abdeldaiem of Sports Illustrated:
“This is a new chapter in my career,” Davis said. “Now it’s time to turn the page and keep making the book even better.”
Failing to advance to the 2019 NBA playoffs for a franchise-worst six consecutive seasons, the Lakers will rely on the pairing of James and Davis in their quest to return to championship contention.
In addition to his desire of winning multiple championships, Davis wants to give back to the community and be remembered in a positive light when he finally calls it a career someday:
“I want to be a champion. I want to be a guy who works hard and loves to play the game of basketball, a guy that loves being in the community and helping the kids out, giving back. Those are the most important thing for me as far as legacy, and that’s what I want my legacy to be.”
Even though Davis has yet to take the court as a member of the Lakers, he is already making a positive impact on the team. He waived his $4 million trade kicker to help create additional salary cap space in free agency and played a pivotal role in recruiting DeMarcus Cousins to Los Angeles.
Davis and Cousins enjoyed moderate success during their brief stint as teammates with the Pelicans from the 2016-18 seasons and the hope is that they will again mesh well together in Los Angeles.