LeBron James attempted to downplay swirling rumors about a possible trade for Anthony Davis.
James says he doesn’t play “much fantasy basketball.”
LeBron James on Anthony Davis: "I kind of tend not to play much fantasy basketball, that’s how I’ve always been. If something were to occur with our team whether it’s him or it’s somebody else throughout the trade deadline we’ll approach it then."
— Bill Oram (@billoram) February 5, 2019
And it may turn out to be just that: a fantasy.
The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly pulled out of trade talks for AD due to “outrageous” demands by the New Orleans Pelicans.
Per The LA Times:
Magic Johnson, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, told New Orleans general manager Dell Demps on Tuesday morning that the Lakers had made their best offer, were not willing to add anything else and were done with negotiations, said the person who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The person said the Lakers were not willing to give up the six to eight draft picks the Pelicans sought for Davis.
The Lakers agreed to send their entire young core of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Ivica Zubac to the Pelicans, as well as veteran guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the two people said. The Lakers’ final offer did include two first-round draft picks, they said. Los Angeles also offered to give New Orleans the salary-cap relief it wanted by acquiring Solomon Hill, who has another year left on hiscontract after this season for $12.7 million.
“They wanted more and more and more,” one person said. “There was no more to give. They had cap relief with Hill being in the deal. But the more they wanted, the more it became outrageous and unrealistic.”
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Report: Lakers Waiting for Pelicans to Make Counter-Proposal in Anthony Davis Trade
