LeBron James could be in trouble for collusion and/or tampering after comments he made about New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis.
Speaking with ESPN's Dave McMenamin, LeBron said it would be incredible if the Lakers could land the five-time All-Star, who is under contract with NOLA through the 2019-20 season.
“That would be amazing,” James told ESPN on Tuesday before the Lakers’ 115-110 in Brooklyn. “That would be amazing, like, duh. That would be incredible.”
ESPN's Brian Windhorst reports that LeBron does, in fact, want the Lakers to make a deal for the Pelicans' All-Star big man - though that shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone. As LeBron said: Duh.
It's no secret that teams like the Lakers and Celtics would be interested in making a run at Davis should he become available via trade, but it remains to be seen how LeBron's comments will be handled by the league.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Celtics have been "hawking" Davis for years and have a plan to acquire him should the situation arise. If AD doesn't sign the five-year, $235 million supermax with New Orleans next summer the team could look to trade him rather than allowing him to walk as a free agent.
"Boston has been hawking Anthony Davis for years. They always hoped that it would be—whether it's the end of this season or the beginning of next before the trade deadline—that they would gather up all those assets, all those picks Danny Ainge has, young players, and they'd be the team to be able to get Anthony Davis.
"But now you have L.A., and if they get shut out in free agency, they're going to have to take all their young players to try to use them to get Anthony Davis."
Davis is averaging 28 points, 12.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.7 steals per game, though the Pelicans are currently sitting just below .500 with a 15-16 record. The Pelicans will visit the Staples Center for a matchup against LeBron and the Lakers this Friday night.