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For the last few years, plenty of Los Angeles Lakers fans wanted the team to trade away Anthony Davis. In their minds, he wasn't just injury-prone — he was lazy, unmotivated and soft, and they felt he was a ticking time bomb because of his increased risk of injury.
On Feb. 1, those fans got their wish. In fact, just about all Lakers fans got a grandiose wish granted when the franchise traded Anthony Davis, guard Max Christie and a future first-round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks for young generational superstar Luka Doncic. Instead of having to rebuild around an aging Davis after LeBron James leaves, the Lakers can now reorganize around Doncic, who just turned 26 years of age.
Former NBA player Marcus Morris Sr. went as far as saying during a Yahoo Sports podcast that Davis was inhibiting James.
When the Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020, James primarily played the point guard and shooting guard positions. But by the 2021-22 campaign, he started playing very few minutes at guard or small forward as his game evolved with age.
In the meantime, while Davis played plenty of minutes at the 4 during that championship season, he almost exclusively played at the 5 for Los Angeles starting in the 2021-22 season but preferred to be at the power forward spot, where he is arguably more effective.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith co-signed Morris' comment during an episode of "First Take" and elaborated on how Doncic has aided both James and the Lakers while manifesting head coach JJ Redick's offensive vision for the team.
Before Doncic arrived, James had to do a whole lot for the Lakers to be successful, including dictating the tempo, setting up their offense and getting others involved. It was taxing for the man who turned 40 years of age in late December, and it often left him fatigued during the fourth quarter over the last few years.
But Doncic is now often running L.A.'s offense, which has allowed James to either run the wing on the fast break or set up closer to the basket in his sweet spots in a halfcourt setting.
As Smith mentioned, the Lakers' 3-point volume has increased greatly since the Doncic trade, but so has their effort, intensity and effectiveness on the defensive end. Even without Davis, who is seemingly always a candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award, the team is third in defensive rating since Jan. 30. It now has more quickness and versatility on that end of the floor, not to mention the ability to switch, something Redick has wanted to do all season defensively.
Davis played his last game with the Lakers on Jan. 28 when he went down with an abdominal injury. He was traded to Dallas in the Doncic deal four days later.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Stephen A. Smith and former player feel Lakers needed to trade A.D.
Continue reading...
On Feb. 1, those fans got their wish. In fact, just about all Lakers fans got a grandiose wish granted when the franchise traded Anthony Davis, guard Max Christie and a future first-round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks for young generational superstar Luka Doncic. Instead of having to rebuild around an aging Davis after LeBron James leaves, the Lakers can now reorganize around Doncic, who just turned 26 years of age.
Former NBA player Marcus Morris Sr. went as far as saying during a Yahoo Sports podcast that Davis was inhibiting James.
When the Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020, James primarily played the point guard and shooting guard positions. But by the 2021-22 campaign, he started playing very few minutes at guard or small forward as his game evolved with age.
In the meantime, while Davis played plenty of minutes at the 4 during that championship season, he almost exclusively played at the 5 for Los Angeles starting in the 2021-22 season but preferred to be at the power forward spot, where he is arguably more effective.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith co-signed Morris' comment during an episode of "First Take" and elaborated on how Doncic has aided both James and the Lakers while manifesting head coach JJ Redick's offensive vision for the team.
Before Doncic arrived, James had to do a whole lot for the Lakers to be successful, including dictating the tempo, setting up their offense and getting others involved. It was taxing for the man who turned 40 years of age in late December, and it often left him fatigued during the fourth quarter over the last few years.
But Doncic is now often running L.A.'s offense, which has allowed James to either run the wing on the fast break or set up closer to the basket in his sweet spots in a halfcourt setting.
As Smith mentioned, the Lakers' 3-point volume has increased greatly since the Doncic trade, but so has their effort, intensity and effectiveness on the defensive end. Even without Davis, who is seemingly always a candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award, the team is third in defensive rating since Jan. 30. It now has more quickness and versatility on that end of the floor, not to mention the ability to switch, something Redick has wanted to do all season defensively.
Davis played his last game with the Lakers on Jan. 28 when he went down with an abdominal injury. He was traded to Dallas in the Doncic deal four days later.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Stephen A. Smith and former player feel Lakers needed to trade A.D.
Continue reading...
