With NBA trade deadline looming, Anthony Davis — not LeBron James — is putting pressure on Lakers

Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports NBA Writer

We know Anthony Davis wants the Los Angeles Lakers to acquire another big man.

That, in and of itself, isn’t surprising, considering he prefers playing the four over the five.

But something else is surprising: This time it’s him speaking up and putting pressure on the Lakers’ front office to make a trade.

Over the last few years, LeBron James has been the voice of the organization, both overtly and covertly. He has long been thought of as one of the main reasons why the Lakers traded pieces from their 2020 championship team to acquire Russell Westbrook in 2021. And when that didn’t work out, he made it clear he wasn’t happy ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, even calling it a “duh question” when asked if Kyrie Irving could help transform the team. The Lakers went on to trade Westbrook and acquire six new players en route to reaching the Western Conference Finals that season.

Now, with the Lakers in fifth place and possibly only a few tweaks away from being real contenders, Davis took it upon himself to give Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka a not-so-subtle kick in the rear end, using a television interview to make his point.

“I think we need another big,” Davis told ESPN. “I feel like I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been the four.”

In many ways, it was the most concrete evidence yet of the passing of the torch from James to Davis.

James, who turned 40 in December, has made it clear to the media over the past few seasons that the Lakers are now Davis’ team. It’s clear that Davis has accepted that role on the court. He opened the season playing MVP-caliber basketball and is currently averaging 25.9 points on 52.4 percent shooting, 11.9 rebounds,3.5 assists and 2.2 blocks a game.

But being the Lakers’ so-called spokesperson is new territory for him.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

When the Lakers returned to the court following a two-game pause in their season because of the wildfires around Los Angeles, Davis spoke to the media following their game against San Antonio on January 13. James didn’t talk that evening.

And now, ahead of the trade deadline, it’s Davis who’s being most vocal about the team’s needs.

Davis recently said he has embraced being “the guy” on the Lakers.

“I just know in order for us to do something we’ve talked about in previous years and this year, that in order for us to reach the promised land, I have to play how I’m playing now,” Davis told FOX Sports. “It’s never been a conversation with me and [LeBron] where it’s like, ‘Hey, this is your team and I’m giving you the keys or whatever.’ It’s just been something that we’ve just played off of each other. And it just happened.”

Davis feels urgency to win another championship now, especially considering James has acknowledged he’s not going to play “until the wheels fall off” and likely has only one or two seasons remaining.

With the February 6th trade deadline around the corner, Davis applied some pressure. He doubled-down on his comments when asked about them after the Lakers beat the reigning champion Boston Celtics last Thursday.

Davis said the Lakers are “a bit more disruptive” defensively when he’s playing the four. And offensively, he added it frees him up, allowing him to “float around a bit more.”

“I only started playing the five in 2021,” Davis said. “I’d have stretches, but I was primarily a four. So my whole career I’ve been playing the four. And we’ve seen how I play. I just feel a little bit more effective [at the four]. I mean, [playing the five] has its advantages and disadvantages. But the front office knows that. I’ve told them that every year I’ve been here. So it’s nothing new. But I just feel like, personally, I’m a better player at the four.”

Those were strong words for Davis, who’s now in his sixth season with the Lakers. In the past, he left most of the politicking to James. Now, he’s the one making a clear plea.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Lakers do. Will they trade their first round picks and go after another star in an attempt to win now? Will they make a smaller move with their second-round picks? Will they stand pat, as they did at the trade deadline last year?

James recently said the Lakers need to play near-perfect basketball to win with their current roster. “We don’t have room for error,” he said.

That’s a tall order for James and Davis in the very competitive Western Conference, in which 10 teams have records above .500.

Pelinka has already made a move this season, trading D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets in December for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.

But the Lakers’ superstars clearly feel that more needs to be done for them to be a real contender. In fact, on James’ 40th birthday on December 30, he offered a very honest evaluation of his team.

“Can we win a championship right now?” James asked. “No, I don’t think so. But that’s good because we have so much room for improvement.”

As for Davis’ stated desire for another big man, Dwight Howard was quick to volunteer for the role, tweeting, “It ain’t that hard to find a center.” Howard, of course, played alongside James and Davis during their championship run in 2020 before last playing overseas in Taiwan in 2022-23.

There are many more likely options the Lakers would target if they were looking for another big. But this much is for sure: Pelinka has some tough things to weigh.

With the Lakers currently playing so well, including winning five of their last six games, it puts pressure on Pelinka to make moves that would make them a championship team now. But, of course, that could come at the sacrifice of a long-term rebuild after James retires.

At least Davis made it clear what he wants.

He wants the Lakers to tweak the team now, putting him and James in a position to win another title together.

“We always want to have a championship mindset,” Davis said. “We always want it to be attainable.”

And in the process, he’s proving something else.

The so-called passing of the torch was more than just ceremonial.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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