Anthony Davis recalls when the Los Angeles Lakers nearly went through a wholesale change at the 2023-2024 trade deadline that would have shaken up the entire league. The near-trade started with a rumor and ended with the Golden State Warriors attempting to send in an offer for LeBron James.
As the 2024-2025 season inches closer, Davis reflected on the moment that he called "strange." The 31-year-old said that nothing about the rumor affected the team and was a mere abnormal afterthought for most of the players.
"I can't remember how I heard about it, I think my dad called me," Davis said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. "I don't think it affected anything [but] I think that might've been the first time that [LeBron James has] been in trade talks in his career. That didn't affect our team. It was definitely strange to hear in the sense of it was the first time he was talked about in a trade before."
The rumors were confirmed when ESPN reported that the Warriors went all-in on pursuing the trade at the deadline but were shut down by both Rob Pelinka and James' agent, Rich Paul. Golden State owner Joe Lacob reportedly reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to inquire about James' availability before general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. took over.
James had no desire to leave Los Angeles and ended the season with Davis on the Lakers. In the offseason, the team selected his son, Bronny James, with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, effectively guaranteeing that he would remain with the team for the rest of his career.
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Entering his 13th year in the NBA, Anthony Davis is gearing up for his sixth season with the Lakers in 2024-2025. Davis is coming off arguably his best season with the team, appearing in a career-high 76 regular season games.
Davis' health has been a major storyline throughout his career, having never played a full 82-game season. His 76 games in his fifth season with the Lakers marked the first time he appeared in over 60 games since his first year with the team in 2019-2020.
Ahead of the upcoming season the Lakers made the biggest change to the team by hiring JJ Redick at head coach but kept most of their roster intact from the previous year. Davis is expected to begin the year in the frontcourt alongside Rui Hachimura and LeBron James, the same lineup they ended 2023-2024 with.
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