Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans will end up playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. That's according to the Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. Barkley, an NBA analyst for Turner Sports believes that Davis going to the Lakers is inevitable from the moment he signed with Klutch Sports.
Anthony Davis is represented by Rich Paul, the founder and childhood friend of the Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. According to Barkley, he has said that Davis would end up playing for the Lakers months ago.
"I said that three months ago when he signed with Klutch," Barkley told reporters. He added "I said on ESPN, I said, 'Well, the fix is in.'"
TNT’s Charles Barkley: “At some point Anthony Davis is going to be with the Lakers... The fix is in. I said that when he signed with Klutch. I actually got a call from Rich Paul. I said, ‘Dude, the fix is in. You know he’s going to the Lakers.’” pic.twitter.com/0ApaBanV42 — Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 15, 2019
However, the Lakers failed to snag Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans during this year's trade season. While the Lakers did everything it can to acquire the All-Star center, the New Orleans Pelicans seem to have their eyes on another price.
Magic Johnson and the Lakers have sent numerous trade packages to the New Orleans Pelicans but ultimately were unable to strike a deal. Johnson, the president of basketball operations for the Lakers, believes that the Pelicans didn't negotiate in good faith.
Now that the trade season is over, the next chance for the Lakers to acquire Anthony Davis is during the offseason. However, the Lakers would face serious competition for Anthony Davis' services.
The Boston Celtics are seemingly the front-runners to acquire Anthony Davis in the offseason. While there are numerous hurdles for the Celtics to get over, Boston believes that they could land the disgruntled All-Star.
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis left the Pelican's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after suffering a shoulder injury. Davis finished the game with 14 points and four rebounds in only 16 minutes of action.
This appears to be the play Anthony Davis got hurt on - he's not expected to return @WWLTV pic.twitter.com/9xNkvvacvx — Ricardo LeCompte (@RLeCompteTV) February 15, 2019
The MRI result on the Pelicans star revealed a muscle contusion. Davis' status for the upcoming NBA All-Star game is unknown.
Anthony Davis has only played in 44 games for the Pelicans this season. Davis is averaging 28.5 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on 50.8 percent shooting. Davis has career averages of 23.9 points, 10.6 boards, and 2.1 assists per game.
While Barkley believes that Davis would end up playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, the great basketball sage offered a piece of advice to Davis. Talking about the way in which Davis and his camp tried to push their out of New Orleans, Barkley said: "Don't ruin your reputation as a great player, and one of the nicest guys in the world."
