Philadelphia 76ers: Free agency implications of Anthony Davis trade
The Philadelphia 76ers could be negatively impacted in free agency by the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers.
This is a big summer for the Philadelphia 76ers. They were one shot away from possibly defeating the now NBA champions in the Toronto Raptors. The 2019 NBA Draft is just a few days away, but free agency is the period of the offseason that would either make or break the franchise. However, a trade recently agreed upon to send a star player to the other side of the country might end up hurting the Sixers free agent plans.
The deal in questions was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Pelicans have agreed to a deal to trade Anthony Davis to the Lakers for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks – including the No. 4 overall in 2019 Draft, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2019
Kudos to the New Orleans Pelicans for getting a solid return for Anthony Davis. Three first round picks, plus Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart are great package for the All-Star big man. The Lakers now have a front court of LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and Davis. That’s a great trio, but to imagine that Los Angeles is done adding talent would be foolish.
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Right now the Lakers only have James, Kuzma, Davis, Moritiz Wagner and Isaac Bonga on the roster. They will need to fill out the depth, especially at the guard positions. With the addition of Davis, the Lakers will need to add more to the roster to make it competitive.
The Lakers could have added another max level contract player, if they had waited 30 days to complete the deal, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN. However, the deal will be completed July 6 according to Wojnarowski, so the Lakers won’t be able to add another max level player. That means adding a player like Jimmy Butler won’t be in the cards for the Lakers, which means that they don’t have to worry about losing a star to the Lakers.
Los Angeles could have $27.8 million or $23.8 million in salary cap space, depending on what happens with Davis’ trade bonus. That means adding shooters around James and Davis should be the primary goal of the Lakers moving forward. Assuming L.A. decides to target shooters, J.J. Redick might end up being a target of theirs. Redick is one of the best 3-point shooters in the league and would be an ideal fit around the Lakers star duo.
Losing Redick won’t be as big as a loss as losing Butler, but it would still be a major blow for the Sixers. Redick was one of the main sources of floor spacing and scoring for the Sixers this past season. He averaged 18.1 points while shooting 39.7 percent from downtown. His value isn’t something easily replaced.
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Both Butler and Tobias Harris should be priorities for the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason, but they can’t forget about Redick for too long or else the Lakers may sign him instead.