For all their flaws -- and perhaps too much has been made of those flaws considering the players' age -- the Lakers' young players have more combined trade value than
Kevin Knox,
Frank Ntilikina,
Dennis Smith Jr. and
Mitchell Robinson. (Does Robinson have the most trade value of those four guys? He might. He had the best 2018-19 season among them.)
The No. 3 pick in this draft plus all of those guys does not carry the same appeal as the No. 4 pick plus
Brandon Ingram,
Lonzo Ball,
Josh Hart and
Kyle Kuzma. I'm not sure the two Dallas future first-round picks the Knicks received in the
Kristaps Porzingis deal tilt the equation in their favor; the Lakers can add their own first-round picks into any Davis package. If the Davis sweepstakes still happens, the Lakers probably come out of the lottery ahead of Knicks.
Some in the league wonder if the Pelicans' ownership and the New Orleans Saints officials who once had so much influence might still hold some grudge against the Lakers. Maybe. The door is slightly ajar for a surprise Davis suitor beyond the Lakers, Knicks and Celtics. But Gayle Benson has empowered Griffin, and the bet here is that Griffin will push for the best deal -- if a deal happens -- without much regard to the destination.