The 2018-19 Los Angeles Lakers season was a disappointing one and one of the low points was around the trade deadline when they were connected to Anthony Davis.
Davis is one of the best players in the league and when he asked for a trade through agent Rich Paul, the Lakers were his preferred destination.
While a trade didn’t end up happening as then-New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps had no desire to trade Davis to his preferred destination, it became apparent that president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka wer offering almost every player on the roster for him.
It was easy to see the rumors affected the Lakers as it was right around then that they began playing their worst basketball of the season.
During his recent exit interview, Josh Hart was very candid in admitting that all of the rumors surrounding Davis were annoying.
“I guess it was annoying,” Hart said. “The media made it annoying. Social media made it annoying.”
While Hart was annoyed by the rumors, it is hard to say if it affected his play or not because he was dealing with a knee injury for pretty much the entire second half of the season. He was eventually shut down and underwent a ultrasonic debridement procedure.
The other players of the young core — Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma — actually stepped up their game after the trade rumors, so it is hard to blame the team’s failures on that.
Davis is still a member of the Pelicans, so it is very possible Hart and the other young players will have to deal with the constant rumors again during the offseason.