The NBA’s trade deadline came and went, and Anthony Davis stayed put in New Orleans. That’s not a huge surprise given the market that opens up for the Pelicans come this summer, but it’s disappointing news to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The team badly wants to acquire Davis, and it made an aggressive push to trade for him before Thursday afternoon’s deadline. But 3 p.m. came and went without a major roster shakeup similar to what James’ then Cleveland Cavaliers endured last season. And while that may be disappointing for LeBron and Lakers fans that want to know what the future of their team holds long-term, it was cause for celebration for some still-current Lakers.
Lonzo Ball, who made it clear through proxies that he did not want to land in New Orleans as part of a trade for Davis, seemed thrilled about not getting traded on Thursday. As the deadline passed Ball, who is with the Lakers in Boston to play the Celtics on Thursday night, posted a video on his Instagram story that made it clear: he’s not going anywhere.
Lonzo's IG story 😂 pic.twitter.com/fDcHEiatly
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) February 7, 2019
That’s P. Diddy’s “Bad Boys For Life” playing on the bluetooth speaker there, which Zo attempts to zoom in on in time with the beat. It could be some brilliant viral marketing for Bose speakers, or Ball is just genuinely happy to still be a Laker.
Considering all of the bluster of the deadline surrounding the Lakers — including out of Ball’s father, LaVar — it’s kind of fitting that this is how the narrative ends for Los Angeles once the trade deadline dust is finally settled. Nothing much changes for the Lakers for now, but it’s really just a matter of time before big moves change the makeup of the roster.
