Lakers the favorites to land Anthony Davis, according to oddsmaker
Cheer up, Los Angeles Lakers fans, things will be better in the offseason. Ignore all the drama surrounding Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka and Heath Ledger and focus on the fact that your team is the favorite to land Anthony Davis this offseason.
At least, that’s what one oddsmaker believes. Sportsbetting.ag lists the Lakers as a slight favorite over both the New Orleans Pelicans and Boston Celtics for Davis.
How close is it? Well, the Lakers are listed at plus-100 to open the 2019-20 season with Davis. The Pelicans and Celtics are both plus-200. The New York Knicks are the only other team with odds to land Davis. They are listed at plus-400.
While Lakers fans should feel good about that, the odds are all close enough that they shouldn’t feel confident. Davis could easily wind up back with the Pelicans. The team could opt to just hold onto him, or he could have a change of heart after the team selects Zion Williamson with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Throughout the season, the Lakers were heavily tied to Davis in trade talks. LeBron James has been vocal about his desire to play with Davis in the past, and those comments fueled the talks.
In the end, that may have come back to bite the Lakers. Negotiations between both sides reportedly got ugly, and leaks threatened the Lakers’ chemistry for a large portion of the season.
The offseason presents both teams with an opportunity to rekindle talks. This time around, the Lakers might be more desperate to get it done. Landing Davis and another superstar to pair with James would immediately make them major contenders in the Western Conference.
After missing out on the playoffs this season, the Lakers need to do whatever they can to get back.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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