NBA superstar Anthony Davis — who shares the powerful player agent Rich Paul with basketball god LeBron James — now also shares a team with 3x NBA champion James. Oh, you thought that already happened? You’d be forgiven for thinking this is last year’s news — Davis demanded a trade six months ago and he and James were well-known to be aiming at the same Hollywood target.
Asked about the trade, which sent 3 first round picks plus Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram to the Pelicans, NBA legend and Emmy-winning hoops analyst Charles Barkley told ESPN that “obviously it’s the worst kept secret in pro sports. You knew [Davis] was gonna go to the Lakers at some point.” How much does this single trade transform the NBA landcape? Barkley: “Listen, you got LeBron, you got AD, you’re in the [championship] conversation. This thing has just flipped on its head in the last week. KD out for next year…”
Barkley still likes Portland, Denver, and Houston in the West — the Lakers “aren’t automatically the favorite,” he says. Maybe not. But this is a photo from next year’s playoffs…