Anthony Davis available?

There are reportedly some rumblings that a Los Angeles Lakers star not named Russell Westbrook could be on the trade block. On a recent episode of his podcast, Bill Simmons said that Anthony Davis “might be available.” “So, the Lakers lost again …

There are reportedly some rumblings that a Los Angeles Lakers star not named Russell Westbrook could be on the trade block. On a recent episode of his podcast, Bill Simmons said that Anthony Davis “might be available.” “So, the Lakers lost again today,” Simmons said. “There’s some buzz, some buzzing that AD might be available. That that’s a Plan B. Because the Westbrook trade, or whatever they think they can get for Westbrook and whether you want to give up future assets, maybe that doesn’t even make sense ’cause what are you getting if you’re the Lakers?”

Source: Orel Dizon @ Basketball Network

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Lakers’ Anthony Davis attempts only two shots in second half vs. Cavaliers sportando.basketball/en/anthony-dav…3:13 AM
Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
New @Bill Simmons Podcast with @TheCousinSal recapping this week in the NFL then they Guess The Lines. Then NBA talk with me because Bill is hearing some buzz that Anthony Davis may be available for trade. So we got into the Lakers’ approach and best fits. open.spotify.com/episode/5msBgs…3:00 AM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
New story: Anthony Davis only took 2 shots in the 2nd half in LA’s Sunday loss. How does that get fixed? LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Darvin Ham all had different answers es.pn/3DE7n9j9:28 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Darvin Ham on AD not getting a lot of looks today: “He’s got my blessing to scream out, call his own number.” – 7:50 PM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Anthony Davis declined to speak to the media postgame. – 6:52 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Lakers say Anthony Davis is not speaking after the game today. – 6:51 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on trying to get Anthony Davis going offensively pic.twitter.com/ta7K6BkWtj6:41 PM

Allen Sliwa @AllenSliwa
Stat on @SpectrumSN, come on now…How can AD have 3 shot attempts in the 4th qtr over 3 games. That’s on him to ask for the ball pic.twitter.com/GPTWGLwTDK6:36 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Darvin Ham said the team has to “slow down, be organized and get what you want,” and didn’t do that enough in the second half. Says the Lakers have plays to feature AD, and AD also has his blessing to call his own number if he’s not being involved. – 6:31 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Cavs banged on Lakers in the paint after halftime
Possibly related
Anthony Davis 1st half: 17 points, 6/10 FGs, 8 rebounds (2 fouls), 3 assists, 1 block, 5/9 FTs, +10
Anthony Davis 2nd half: 2 points, 1/2 FGs, 4 rebounds (2 fouls), 1 assist, 0 blocks, 0 FTAs, -17 – 6:22 PM
Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA
A big question for me at the start of the season was whether LeBron and AD would look good enough that it was worth trading picks to surround them with more talent. They don’t right now. – 6:08 PM
Brad Turner @BA_Turner
Lakers drop to 2-7 after 114-100 loss to Cleveland. LeBron James led Lakers with 27 points, AD and Russell Westbrook both had 19. Donovan Mitchell had 33 for Cavs and Darius Garland had 24. – 6:01 PM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Final: Cavs 114, Lakers 100
The Lakers fall to 2-7. A six-point halftime lead turned into a 14-point loss. LeBron James had 27 points and 7 rebounds. AD had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Russell Westbrook had 19 points and 10 assists.
Up next: at Utah tomorrow. – 6:00 PM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
The Lakers fell apart in the 2nd half with a 114-100 loss to the Cavs. LA is now 2-7. LeBron 27p 7r 4a; AD 19p 12r; Westbrook 19p 10a 2s 7tos. The Lakers shot 8-for-26 from 3 and had 17 turnovers leading to 21 pts for CLE. Mitchell had 33p for The Land. – 5:59 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Only two 2nd half field goal attempts for AD tonight, after four 2nd half FGA’s in Friday’s loss.
His night ends with 19 points on 7 of 12 FG’s and 5 of 9 FT’s, plus 12 boards and 4 assists. – 5:54 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
The Lakers allow Allen to get an offensive rebound and putback, putting the Cavs up 109-92 with 4:50 left. Lakers are cooked. Ham put in Russ, LeBron and AD together early in the quarter to push and close the gap, but it didn’t work. – 5:50 PM
Danny Cunningham @RealDCunningham
Great third quarter for the #Cavs after a pretty disastrous first half. Will be curious at what point Anthony Davis comes back with four fouls and how the Cavs look to attack him. – 5:30 PM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Third quarter: Cavs 87, Lakers 80
The Cavs outscored the Lakers 29-16 in another dreadful third-quarter performance from LA. The Lakers’ 3-point (4-18, 22.2%) and FT (10-18, 55.6%) struggles are catching up to them. Stopped playing with pace. LeBron has 22. AD has 19 and 11. – 5:28 PM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
Here’s a formula for Lakers success this season: AD (17p 8r), Russ (14p 5a), LeBron (12p 4r) all playing well at the same time and LAL’s defense holding its opponent under 40% from the field. Lakers up 64-58 at the half on Cleveland. – 4:53 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Lakers 64, Cavs 58 at the half. AD with 17, Russ with 14, LeBron with 12. Lakers have been impressive in many respects, but the Cavs’ guards are walking buckets: Garland and Mitchell each have 21 points. – 4:47 PM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Halftime: Lakers 64, Cavs 58
Anthony Davis has 17 points and 8 rebounds. Russell Westbrook has 14 points and 5 assists. LeBron James has 12 points. The Lakers are dominating the Cavs 38-16 in the paint. The teams have combined to attempt 40 FTs (Cavs at 91.%, Lakers at 58.8%). – 4:47 PM
Brad Turner @BA_Turner
Lakers hold a 64-58 lead over Cavs at the half. AD leads Lakers with 17 points, 8 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland both have 21 for Cavs. – 4:47 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Anthony Davis with 17 points with two minutes before halftime, 6 for 10 from the floor, a plus-11 so far. He’s looked back to himself. – 4:41 PM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
First quarter: Lakers 36, Cavs 30
This is the first time the Lakers have won the first quarter this season. Russell Westbrook leads LA w/ 12 points. He’s the only bench player with a positive +/-. AD has 9 points and 4 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell leads all scorers w/ 15 points. – 4:13 PM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook combine to score 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting in the first quarter. That has to be their best quarter as a trio. – 4:12 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron finishes after crashing to the floor. Westbrook steals an inbounds pass. AD finishes after crashing to the floor, too. Lakers crowd elated with things coming together. – 3:55 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
LAL are off to a good start in this day game against the Cavs, scoring the first 7 before Mitchell grabbed a ball that got deflected by the Lakers and drew a PF.
Brown Jr. has a 3, and LeBron and AD both scored at the rim. – 3:44 PM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Lakers’ starters vs. Cleveland:
Kendrick Nunn
Lonnie Walker IV
Troy Brown Jr.
LeBron James
Anthony Davis – 3:19 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Lakers starters vs Cavs: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kendrick Nunn, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr. – 3:01 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Lakers starters today vs. Cleveland at 12:30 on @SpectrumSN:
Kendrick Nunn (in for Patrick Beverley)
Lonnie Walker IV
Troy Brown Jr.
LeBron James
Anthony Davis – 3:00 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Lakers officially determine that LeBron James (sore left foot), Anthony Davis (tight lower back) and Wenyen Gabriel (non-Covid illness) will be available for today’s game vs the Cavs – 2:58 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Lakers have updated that Wenyen Gabriel is AVAILABLE today. Darvin Ham said a little earlier that LeBron AD are good to go as well. – 2:07 PM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Darvin Ham says both LeBron James and Anthony Davis will play today. He hasn’t decided who will replace Patrick Beverley in the starting lineup yet. – 1:56 PM
Brad Turner @BA_Turner
LeBron and AD will play for Lakers vs Cavs, per Darvin Ham – 1:56 PM

More on this storyline

𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙗𝙝 ⁶𓅓: Bill Simmons on the availability of Anthony Davis (The Ringer) -via Twitter / November 7, 2022
“Obviously, (the offense) starts with AD and getting him more touches,” James said. “Our focal point is and always should be to make sure he touches the ball throughout the course of possessions, quarters, halves.” Russell Westbrook, who’s assisted Davis 11 times this season, the second-most behind only James (19), said it’s up to the coaching staff to figure out better ways to get Davis more involved. “I don’t know whose primary job it is, to be honest,” Westbrook said. “I’ll leave it up to the coaches to figure out the best way for them to utilize him. When I’m in, I do the best job I can in making reads, try to make the game easier for him when I’m in.” -via The Athletic / November 7, 2022
Ham was also blunt in his assessment, putting the onus more on Davis’ teammates to run their offense and consciously look for the big man inside, and on Davis to command the ball more. “These guys are not rookies,” Ham said. “We have a playbook. We have a menu and a bunch of sets where AD can be featured. You have to just be organized – slow down and be organized and get what you want. … “He’s got my blessing to scream out, call his own number. We tried to get him going, tried to get Bron going on some post actions and some step-ups and pick-and-roll stuff. It’s not like we’re not trying.” -via The Athletic / November 7, 2022