The Los Angeles Lakers know they got played by Dell Demps and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Lakers president Magic Johnson openly said Sunday that the Pelicans did not engage in good faith negotiations with his team in Anthony Davis trade talks.
Magic Johnson is asked if New Orleans had good faith negotiations with the Lakers: “No.”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 10, 2019
Johnson is only saying what everyone already knew. By the trade deadline, the Pelicans weren’t even calling back on the Lakers’ latest offer, though it was the closest to what New Orleans was demanding. It’s also widely believed that it was the Pelicans who were leaking the nature of the offers to the media, with some suggesting it was part of a conspiracy theory to destabilize their potential trade partner. Of course, negotiations are a two-way street, and many felt that the Lakers’ initial offer wasn’t good enough to be taken seriously either.
Realistically, the Pelicans had no reason to trade Davis now with the Lakers as the lone bidders. Los Angeles was taken for a ride, and there will certainly be more serious negotiations with a wider range of teams in the summer.
