Anthony Davis trade: Lakers have this in their favour to make a move - EXCLUSIVE
ANTHONY DAVIS joining the Los Angeles Lakers makes “all the sense in the world”.
NBA: Anthony Davis will 'force a trade' from Pelicans
That’s the opinion of 2011 NBA champion Caron Butler, who believes the New Orleans Pelicans will not be able to keep hold of Davis.
Davis’ future has dominated the headlines all season long with a decision set to be made this summer.
New Orleans have repeatedly stated they will not listen to trade offers for the 25-year-old during this season, meaning teams will have to wait until the campaign ends.
The Pelicans are expected to offer Davis the full $240million supermax contract, but reports have suggested he will reject it in favour of forcing a trade.
The Lakers and Boston Celtics have seemingly been leading the race to trade for Davis due to their superior assets to other teams.
There will likely be other teams that come in to play and spring up a surprise, like the Toronto Raptors did with Kawhi Leonard last summer.
However, Butler believes Davis will end up joining the Lakers and team up with LeBron James.
“I always think about the numbers that guys have to put up,” Butler told Express Sport.
“With guys like Anthony Davis, James Harden and all these kind of players, they’re so great in their own right.
“When he’s out there performing at a high level, he has to score 43 [points], 19 [rebounds] and 12 [assists] to have a shot at realistically winning a game.
“So it’s like, do you want to continue to do that, or do you want to at some point go to a situation where you’re playing with a bunch of stars in a solid team and you can have longevity in the game.
“I just think when you think about that, he’s only 25 years old.
“I can see him as a Laker.
“It just makes sense for me. I don’t think the Pelicans are a legit contender.
“I just think it makes all the sense in the world if he goes to the Lakers.”