With one day left to the trade deadline, the Lakers cannot convince the Pelicans to ship Anthony Davis to Los Angeles. Reportedly, there were numerous offers that included young and talented Lakers core and a haul of draft picks, but the Pelicans just wanted more and more, and it means four first-round and second-round picks. However, the Pelicans didn’t make a concrete counteroffer even though it is so obvious they want to be overcompensated which is quite understandable, as they are moving a 25-year old five-time All-Star who’s averaging 24.0 points and 10.6 rebounds during his career.

The Brow is tallying 29.3 points and 13.3 rebounds this season, and whoever gets him and convinces him to sign an extension will get one of the most dominant players in the league who can domineer for the next ten years, if he stays healthy, of course. That’s why the Pelicans want to estimate their options, while they don’t have to make a deal right now. Waiting for this to happen or not, you may check promotions on offer to existing customers wanting to bet on basketball. The Pelicans can use all these offers as a baseline for future bids in the offseason, believing the Lakers will want to make a deal this summer, too, with a few more teams included into the consideration. Allegedly, the Celtics would like to offer Jayson Tatum, but they cannot make a move until the offseason.

Still, Boston could have access to four first-round picks in the 2019 NBA Draft which makes the Lakers pretty nervous, so Magic Johnson would like to get the things done until February 7 at 3:00 PM ET. Magic will need to offer everything he can – Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and Ivica Zubac – along with two first-round picks and two second-round picks if he wants to inveigle the Pelicans to finally accept the offer and send Anthony Davis to the Lakers.

This also means the Lakers will stay without their whole talented core and a half of their current roster, not to mention the future draft picks. So, who would help LeBron James and Anthony Davis to drive the Lakers to the postseason? And, is Anthony Davis worth all the sacrifice?

Kyle Kuzma is having a wonderful sophomore season, tallying 18.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He had some tremendous displays with LeBron sidelined with an injury, showing he could be a real leader on the floor. Brandon Ingram is another player with a bright future who can cover multiple positions and do many things on both sides of the ball. Ingram is averaging 17.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in his third season in the league. Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and Ivica Zubac are all talented guys who can improve in the future, but the Lakers obviously don’t want to wait anymore. Bottom line, this season seems already ruined for the Lakers with or without Anthony Davis on the team even if they somehow make it to the playoffs.

However, the Lakers look ready to take their chances and start building around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, no matter how difficult it will be to find the right guys to surround these two superstars. The Pelicans will have the final saying in the coming hours, but considering that they could end up with five talented players plus four draft picks, we are most likely going to see another blockbuster deal.