Following a trade agreement between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Lakers, it is time to say goodbye to superstar Anthony Davis. Davis was with the Pelicans since joining the NBA in 2012, when they selected him as the number one draft pick.
Davis requested to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers since January of 2019, but no deal had been made until now.
When the Pelicans season ended in April, Davis wore a “That’s all Folks” t-shirt, in reference to the classic “Looney Tunes” line. It would be the last game he played for the Pelicans.
The Lakers reached an agreement with the Pelicans to acquire Anthony Davis for three players and another first-round pick.
Davis will join Lebron James and Kyle Kuzma on the Lakers next season. Along with Kuzma, James and Davis will be a powerful duo. They already have shown good chemistry in past NBA All-Star games.
James congratulated Davis on Instagram saying “AD on the way!! Let’s get it bro! Just the beginning.”
In exchange for Davis, the first player the Pelicans got was Lonzo Ball. Ball is a guard and was the number two draft pick in 2017 and averaged 9.9 points last season.
The Pelicans second acquisition was Brandon Ingram. Ingram was the number two draft pick in the 2016 draft and averaged 18.3 points last season as a forward.
Josh Hart was the final player the Pelicans got in the deal. As a guard, Hart was the 30th pick in the 2017 draft and averaged 7.8 points last season.
Along with receiving three great players, the Pelicans also got the number four overall pick in the NBA draft. However, during the draft, the Pelicans traded their number four pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a number eight, 17 and 35 pick as well as a heavily protected first round pick in 2020.
With the Pelicans’ newfound picks from the Hawks, their team for next season only improved. They picked Jaxson Hayes, a center from the University of Texas, for their number eight pick.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a shooting and point guard from Virginia Tech, was selected for their number 17 pick. With their number 35 pick, the Pelicans selected 6-foot-5-inch shooting guard Marcos Louzada Silva from Brazil.
After news of the trade agreement, Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry said this on Twitter regarding the new players: “That’s a haul folks.” It was another Looney Tunes reference, similar to the shirt Davis wore back in April.
The Pelicans will now enter a new era not built on Anthony Davis. Davis, on the other hand, will have to adapt to a new team setting on the Lakers.
The Pelicans will have to see how the new players mesh with veteran guard Jrue Holiday. David Griffin the Executive VP of Basketball Operations for the Pelicans made comments about the new team’s chemistry on NBA TV. “Jrue Holiday is the face of this franchise. And that means we sacrifice whatever it takes to win basketball games.”
Davis will be missed, but expect to see great things not only from him as a Laker, but also from the new Pelicans. The NBA regular season will start in October.