If you haven’t heard, superstar Anthony Davis has finally got his way to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are the team he wanted to go to since the beginning of last season. The New Orleans Pelicans finally pulled the trigger on the trade. Los Angeles sent Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, the 4th overall pick in this summer’s draft, and a handful of future first round picks. This trade is essentially the same offer that the Lakers offered the Pelicans in the middle of the season. So why the change of heart? Was is a conspiracy by the NBA to send Davis to Los Angeles?
What Led To The Possible Conspiracy?
The Pelicans somehow landed the first overall pick this year, or as most fans think of it as the Zion Williamson sweepstakes. They were expected to get the 7th pick. They had a 6% chance of getting that pick and miraculously got it. It’s similar to how it was seven years ago when they landed the first overall pick that was used to get Davis. Like this time back in 2012, New Orleans was about to lose franchise cornerstone in Chris Paul. But they somehow landed that number one pick.
The Lakers also somehow were awarded with the 4th overall pick this year in the lottery due to some weird rules with how everything was set up. This gave them a legit pick instead of a later lottery pick like they were projected to get. It added extra fuel to the trade fire.
The Conspiracy Theory
The NBA has been filled with conspiracy theories for decades.
From the cold envelope in the ’85 draft so the New York Knicks could get Georgetown Star and eventual Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing. To the Lakers in the early 2000’s in their run for the three-peat getting extra calls over the Sacramento Kings.
The conspiracy theories mentioned helped with ratings for the league. Having star players going to major market teams fuels the NBA. Higher ratings means more money for the players and the league. For this particular trade to go down, the Lakers needed more of an incentive for the Pelicans to do the trade. So here comes the Lakers getting that 4th overall pick. The Pelicans also needed to know that they could easily rebuild after this trade so they didn’t get totally screwed over. That’s why they landed the first pick.
Why?
The Lakers had an abundance of young talent surrounding LeBron James. Young talent though that James had no real desire to play with. He’s in win now mode. The young guns surrounding him weren’t going to be a serious threat for at least another two seasons. While Davis is obviously in his prime now at the young age of 26, he can easily help James with the load.
The Lakers have also been a butt end of a joke for a handful of seasons now. One of the most storied franchises in all of sports was having losing seasons for over five seasons. This is a franchise is built on stars and titles. They landed the biggest star in James last summer. Now they land another star with Davis, switching the trajectory of the team from lottery team to title contender like that.
Having a star like Davis in a big market franchise will shoot ratings way up. Even with a very average Lakers squad, this past season they still had 43 games on national television. Now with a great squad, they might as well put all their games on either ESPN or TNT.
Is It Good or Bad?
The nice thing about this trade both teams got what they want and left both teams happy. I have no evidence that this is true, but that’s how all good conspiracy theories start. Everyone likes a good conspiracy too.
