Los Angeles Lakers Trade: 3 Alternative options to Anthony Davis this summer
After starting the season brightly, a disastrous run of form throughout February and March has all but ended the Los Angeles Lakers' hopes of reaching the playoffs for the first time in more than half a decade. The addition of LeBron James was expected to catapult the Lakers up the Western Conference standings, however, the organization's failure to add a second All-Star has come back to haunt them.
The Lakers tried to add Anthony Davis ahead of the February trade deadline, however, despite offering their entire young core, New Orleans stood firm, choosing instead to reassess offers for their star man in the summer.
Davis is believed to remain Los Angeles' prime summer target, although, Magic Johnson and team executives will face stiff competition from teams including the Boston Celtics. Due to this, it is possible that the Lakers will once again miss out on the 26-year-old All-Star, and Johnson may need to look elsewhere. With this in mind, here we will look at three other bigs that the Lakers may consider this summer.
#3 Julius Randle
Julius Randle only left the Lakers last summer, although, during his debut season with the Pelicans, the 24-year-old has already demonstrated his potential to become a future All-Star. So far this season, Randle has averaged 21.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, and to the surprise of many, he has also developed into a threat from beyond the arc.
Due to the likelihood that Davis will exit the team this summer, the Pelicans will be desperate to retain Randle, although the power forward has a $9 million player option for the 19/20 season. Nevertheless, Randle is the youngest starting-calibre center available on the free-agent market this summer, and he could also prove to be the cheapest option.