Anthony Davis and his representatives have requested a trade, with the Los Angeles Lakers front-runners to claim the elite talent that is considered one of the top five to top 10 players on the planet.
Add that type of talent to LeBron James, and the Lakers suddenly go from being an interesting playoff team that has the best player on the planet to a powerhouse that has two unstoppable forces on the court at the same time.
The Lakers would instantly become title contenders, with room to possibly add another centerpiece and strengthen further over the summer.
While trade rumors and scenarios will dominate the Lakers' chatter until Davis is traded or the trade deadline passes with every young Laker included in those talks, James is nearly back from an injury that will keep him out a total of 16 games after he was ruled out of Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers. This is the lengthiest spell on the sidelines since James joined the NBA in 2003.
Prior to the current season, James highest mark on the shelf was a total of 13 games missed during the 2014-15 season. That's 13 games total, not in a row.
Though James looked in high spirits, jumping and celebrating during Tuesday morning's shootaround, he won't play any part on Tuesday night when the Lakers take on the Philadelphia 76ers at Staples Center.
Philadelphia features Joel Embiid, the best center in the NBA and the man Lakers coach Luke Walton referred to as the "head of the snake" when asked to choose between Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and Embiid.
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The purple and gold's 21-year-old starting center Ivica Zubac will face his toughest test of the season. An impressive performance for the Bosnian-born Croatian would improve his already sky-rocketing trade value, but Walton said that Tyson Chandler will be activated, along with JaVale McGee expected to play minutes at the center spot.
Over the past five games, Zubac is averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game: 19.0 points and 9.4 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game. Last time out, the 7-footer scored 24 points and pulled down 16 rebounds against the Suns, including hitting six of seven free throws. On that topic, Zubac is shooting a team best 89 percent from the foul line on a team that ranks dead last shooting 68.6 percent from the charity stripe.
Zubac isn't the primary problem with the Lakers currently, and neither are Walton or the trade rumors swirling.
The main problem for the Lakers is that they are not simply working around an injury to their superstar player. James could be back as early as Thursday against the LA Clippers based on ESPN's reports and verified by James practicing with the team on Saturday and Monday, and looking especially spry during Tuesday's shootaround.
Injuries are the Lakers' primary cause for concern. Lonzo Ball is in a walking boot with an ankle injury and won't be back on the court for four to six weeks. Kyle Kuzma is fighting off a lingering hip injury that kept him out of Sunday's game against the Phoenix Suns and will also keep him out of Tuesday night's contest against the Sixers. Josh Hart, meanwhile, is struggling with tendinitis in his knee and had to ask out of Sunday's game, so his involvement and impact in the immediate future are questionable.
With, arguably, their top three player out due to injuries, the burden falls on Brandon Ingram, Zubac, Lance Stephenson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to play a competitive game and possibly even sneak out a win.
Facing Simmons, Embiid and Butler is a tall task given all those injuries, even if the Sixers have a losing 11-13 record on the road. Notably, Embiid and Butler both sat out Philadelphia’s loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, and Philadelphia has still won five of its last seven games, including wins against Houston and Oklahoma City.
The injury-riddled Lakers face the surging Sixers with tip off set for 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time at Staples Center.
LeBron Injury Watch
At Tuesday's shootaround, Walton said James looked good:
"I don't think he's going full out yet. We haven't really seen him drive the lane and tomahawk dunk on anyone, but he's moving well, and he's getting up and down the court, shooting well. He doesn't look like he's hurting at all when he's moving."
