The rollercoaster ride that is the Los Angeles Lakers took everyone for another spin on Thursday, when it was announced that the team had agreed to trade Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, and Jemerrio Jones to the Washington Wizards, as part of a three-team trade with the New Orleans Pelicans for Anthony Davis.
The deal is simply a salary dump of players on the Lakers roster not named LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma or Davis, and it allows the Lakers to create a maximum salary space of $32 million in free agency.
In order to create the space to sign a maximum free agent, Davis agreed to waive his $4 million trade bonus, allowing the Lakers to now pursue a third superstar to join LeBron and "The Brow." The Lakers are reportedly targeting star free agents like Kyrie Irving, D'Angelo Russell (restricted), Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, and Kawhi Leonard.
Speaking of Leonard, the reigning NBA Champion and NBA Finals MVP has agreed to meet with the Lakers once free agency begins on July 1. Leonard also plans on meeting the with Clippers and possibly the New York Knicks, with the Toronto Raptors having the final meeting in hopes of retaining their superstar.
As part of the three-team trade that won't be finalized and official until July 6, the Lakers are sending a 2022 second-round pick to the Wizards, and Washington will send cash to the Pelicans.
And if all of this news wasn't enough to completely shake up your Thursday during the NBA offseason, James put the final exclamation point on the morning, when according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, LeBron James has agreed to give his No. 23 Lakers jersey to Davis for the upcoming season.
It's unknown at this time which number LeBron will wear instead, but he previously wore No. 6 while with the Miami Heat from 2010-2014.
