The Los Angeles Lakers made the biggest splash of the offseason when they agreed to acquire Anthony Davis in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, and it is clear they still want to add another star player when free agency begins.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe reported on Thursday that the Lakers and Pelicans are adding a third team — the Washington Wizards — into the Davis trade, which will allow LA to shed the contracts of Mo Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones. In addition, Davis has agreed to waive his $4 million trade kicker. That will give the Lakers $32 million in salary cap space, which is enough to add a third max contract player.
The Lakers are trading Mo Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones to Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis deal with New Orleans, league sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me. Deal clears contracts and creates more cap space for free agency.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2019
Anthony Davis is waiving his $4M trade kicker, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2019
The Lakers will start free agency with $32M in salary cap space. The Lakers have the ability to sign a max player now.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2019
There had been a lot of talk about Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka botching the Davis trade by not having the Pelicans agree to execute it on July 30, which would have given LA $32.5 million in salary cap space. This solves that issue and will allow the Lakers to pursue the top free agents on the market.
Of course, it has also left the Lakers with a ton of holes to fill. Once the Davis trade is completed, they will have only three players on their roster — Davis, LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma. They’ll add a forth when second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker signs his rookie deal. Even if they are able to convince a star free agent like Kawhi Leonard or Jimmy Butler to join them, the Lakers will need to get creative to fill out the rest of their roster.
