Lakers News: Anthony Davis Exceeds Expectations Of Jeanie Buss, LeBron James, And Coach Frank Vogel
In order to acquire All-Star forward/center Anthony Davis last summer, the Los Angeles Lakers needed to give up plenty of valuable trade assets, sending a combination of young players and future draft picks to the New Orleans Pelicans. As of now, Davis continues to prove that the Lakers made the right decision to take part in that blockbuster deal. In the Lakers’ 120-107 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, he had another monster performance, finishing with 37 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and four steals while shooting 68.4 percent from the field and 80 percent from beyond the arc.
In a recent interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, LeBron James, and head coach Frank Vogel couldn’t help themselves but express their admiration for their newest superstar. When they sent a trade package including Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and three future first-round picks to the Pelicans, Buss said that the Lakers knew what type of player they would be getting in Davis. However, Buss admitted that with his performance in the 2019-20 NBA season, the former No. 1 overall draft pick has already exceeded her expectations.
“In order to get a great talent like Anthony Davis, you have to give up something great,” she said. “But to have Anthony Davis as a Laker really is just… he’s even more impressive than I ever thought he would be. And so, it’s exciting what we have.”
James shared the same sentiment as Buss and added that Davis has been justifying every reason why he badly wanted him on the Lakers’ roster since last year.
“It’s everything I expected and more,” James said. “Obviously, that’s why I wanted him here. When you get a generational talent like that and you got an opportunity to get him, you just try to do whatever you can to get him.”
Unlike the initial expectations, it didn’t take long before Davis and James starting showing good chemistry. Though it is the first time that he’s playing with a player of the four-time MVP’s caliber, “AD” doesn’t seem to have a hard time adjusting his game and playing well even without the ball in his hands. This is one of the major reasons why the Lakers currently hold the No. 1 seed in the deep Western Conference.
Meanwhile, Vogel believes that the Davis that is wearing the purple-and-gold is different and much better than the Davis that played for the Pelicans. The coach said that people will see more of the changes and improvements in the All-Star big man’s game when the real battle begins in the 2020 playoffs.
