Blockbuster trades have been one of the biggest draws of the modern NBA league, and there was none bigger than Anthony Davis back in 2019. That year, AD was dealt from the Pelicans to the Los Angeles Lakers in a move that would pair the iconic big next to the current face of basketball: LeBron James.
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The Purple and Gold did have to give up a significant amount to acquire a then-26-year-old Davis. To bring him over, they gave the Pelicans Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks, which included LA’s #4 overall pick in the 2019 draft, which became De’Andre Hunter. The Lakers were really rolling the dice on AD. It turned out to be all worth it.
Davis became a massive asset next to LeBron. In that first year with the Lakers, he averaged 26.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. That’s really good considering he also missed 20 games that season.
He carried over that excellent play in the postseason. In Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, he scored 31 points and hit a walk-off game-winning 3. The Lakers would go on to win a championship that year, giving the historic franchise its 17th world title. Suffice it to say, the Lakers won the trade.
Funny enough, the big deal almost didn’t happen. In 2019, when rumors of AD possibly going to the Lakers surfaced, Pelicans owner Gayle Benson shut that down in the media. ESPN covered the story and shared a quote from journalist Jackie MacMullan, who relayed how Benson actually felt about Davis.
“We have been told, I think through channels – most of us heard the same scuttlebutt -that Gayle Benson has basically told him, ‘To the Lakers, over my dead body.'”
That’s a pretty wild statement to make as a team owner, and a true indication that the franchise felt very strongly about maintaining AD’s talents in New Orleans. However, the nature of the sports business, particularly the NBA, is that a deal can always be made.
That statement may make it seem like Davis’ eventual departure may have caused some bad blood between him and Benson, but a statement from the Pels’ owner is 2019 made it clear that he knows the nature of the business sometimes means trading away your star player.
He was quoted as saying, “I really like what we have in place. I really like Anthony, but if he wants to leave, you can’t hold him back. A lot of people that left, I don’t ever hold grudges with people.”
And as history shows us, the trade was made, and is still considered one of the most substantial player-for-assets trades in modern NBA history. Davis would be involved in another blockbuster trade just this past season, when the Lakers said goodbye to their big and sent him over to Dallas in exchange for Luka Doncic.
Davis didn’t seem too displeased with his time in Los Angeles ending. He got a ring under his belt and got to ball next to one of the game’s greatest players.
But his 2024-2025 season would hit a snag when he suffered an injury in his Mavs debut. He would return, but the squad didn’t have enough firepower to last in the Play-In. Perhaps next year they can bounce back.
