The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

Despite being dysfunctional on many levels, the Lakers are currently the odds on favourites to land Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis, according to Las Vegas.

ESPN reported on Tuesday that the Lakers are the “leader in the clubhouse” for a potential Davis trade.

One anonymous league source said Tuesday the Lakers had made progress towards completing a multi-team deal.

Despite the third team involved remaining a mystery, the Lakers have had productive conversations with the Bulls and Suns over point guard Lonzo Ball recently.

Considering that both teams have top-10 picks in this year’s draft, they would be ideal for a three-team trade.

Lakers eager to keep Kuzma

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Lakers do not want to include PF Kyle Kuzma in any deal for Davis.

However, PG Lonzo Ball, F Brandon Ingram and the No. 4 overall pick are in play.

Lakers looking for third team interested in including ‘all star’ for No. 4 pick

Back in February, the Lakers and Pelicans weren’t able to come to an agreement on a deal, in large part due to the fact that the Pelicans just didn’t think highly enough of the package Los Angeles could offer. While much of that math hasn’t changed, the Lakers do have the No. 4 pick in the upcoming draft.

While they could include that pick in a deal, they are also, according to ESPN, searching for a third team willing to include an “all star” player in exchange for that pick.

The Lakers’ trade package without a third team would likely include both Ball and Ingram, but it also means they can keep Kuzma and combo guard Josh Hart.

With the Celtics seeming to have fallen out of the race for Davis, and the Knicks’ offers being underwhelming at best, the scary thing appears to be that’s it’s highly likely that Davis is a Laker on draft night.

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around AD in Laker purple, but hey, that’s not a bad thing!

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