EL SEGUNDO, CA — For many months, many have waited for the day to see star forward Anthony Davis in a Lakers uniform. After a failed attempt last season to extract Davis out of New Orleans, the Lakers and Davis’ agent Rich Paul remained steadfast in the pursuit of Davis to Los Angeles.
After the firing of General Manager Dell Demps, the Pelicans hired NBA executive David Griffin to fill that position. Griffin is one of the sharpest basketball minds in the league and also had a good relationship with Paul and LeBron James, tried one last ditch effort to try to convince Davis to remain in New Orleans. Once that failed, it was time to start trade discussions with the Lakers.
Finally after talking back and forth with Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka, the deal was done as the Pelicans sent Davis to Los Angeles in exchange for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks. The deal wasn’t complete until July 6 due to salary cap reasons according to ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
On July 13 Davis, Pelinka and head coach Frank Vogel appeared for a press conference to introduce the 6’11 forward to the Los Angeles Media.
“Anthony Davis is arguably the most dominant all-around young player in today’s NBA,” Pelinka said. “Anthony represents everything we stand for, with his unwavering commitment to excellence as both a person and athlete.”
Lakers superstar LeBron James was in attendance in the back of the building for the press conference in support of Davis’ arrival.
