When it was publicly revealed the Los Angeles Lakers would be trading for Anthony Davis, there was a lot of criticism for what they had to give up in players and draft picks; but when the deal happened it seemed that it still was not enough. Despite sending a few pieces of their talented core and 4th overall pick in exchange for the New Orleans Pelicans center, there was concern that L.A. did not have the cap space, unless Davis waived his $4 million trade kicker. Thursday, he waived it, but it cost the Lakers one more asset: Lebron’s no. 23.
Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reports that Lakers forward Lebron James will hand over his famous number 23 to Davis, who has also worn the number ever since high school. Haynes also reports that this could be part of James’ efforts to make Davis “as comfortable as possible”. James will return to wearing 6, which is the only number he wore back in his days with the Miami Heat and the one he won his first championship in. Outside of that, he has worn the number 23 during both stops with the Cleveland Cavaliers and in his first season with the Lakers.
It is unclear if James gifting his jersey number was the result of AD waiving his $4 million stipend, but it certainly was a good start. In addition to that money being thrown out, the Lakers will trade way Mo Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones to the Washington Wizards, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Woj, this was part of the Davis deal and would open more cap space. With this extra cap space, the Lakers are now eligible to sign another max player.
As expected, the Anthony Davis trade has not been a cheap one. The Lakers sent forward Brandon Ingram, their 4th overall pick from the recent draft, as well as guards Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for the superstar power forward. Now there’s $4 million being given up by Davis and Lebron has sacrificed the jersey that he has worn a majority of his career. However, this is a small price to pay in order to bring a title back to this historic franchise and add on to the legacies of these 2 dynamic players.