LOS ANGELES _ Magic Johnson, the Lakers' president of basketball operations, and New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps had conversations regarding All-Star forward Anthony Davis, who has requested a trade, with Johnson wanting to know how to proceed and what the process would take to make a deal, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly comment on the matter.
Johnson reached out to Demps on Tuesday and the two talked about staying in touch before the NBA trade deadline next Thursday, according to the sources.
Then on Wednesday, the Lakers emailed five trade proposals to Demps for him to look over, the sources said.
Other than LeBron James, who has missed the last 17 games because of a groin injury and was listed as doubtful for Thursday night's game against the Clippers, none of the Lakers are untouchable, according to one source.
The Pelicans do have interest in Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball to spearhead the deal, according to multiple sources.
Knowing this, the Lakers had one trade scenario that packaged Ball with forwards Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram, as well as center Ivica Zubac and a No. 1 draft pick, the sources said.
Demps has not gotten back to the Lakers since they made their offers.
The Lakers know that if a deal doesn't get done by the trade deadline, they would then be likely to get into a bidding war over the summer with the Boston Celtics.
Though the Lakers "really, really want" Davis, they would be "very hesitant" to try to outbid the Celtics because the Lakers feel they could spend so much time on a deal that might or might not happen and then miss out on some of the top free agents this summer, according to a source.
"The Lakers have done all they can in trying to get Davis," one source said. "Now all they can do is wait."
Demps has had conversations with Pelicans ownership and has been told to get the best deal possible for the franchise and to not feel rushed, sources said. If a deal gets done by the trade deadline, that's fine, a source said Demps was informed. If it doesn't get done until the summer or until sometime during the 2019-20 season, Pelicans ownership is OK with that as well.
For the deal to work financially, the Lakers would have to add another player to their offer to get within reach of Davis' $25.4 million salary, the sources said.
The combined salaries of Ball ($7.461 million), Kuzma ($1.689 million), Ingram ($5.757 million) and Zubac ($1.544 million) are close, but it would take the salary from another player such as Michael Beasley ($3.5 million) to make the deal.
Though Ball and his representatives know he would have no power over which team he is traded to, he'd prefer the Lakers find a third team, such as the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks or Phoenix Suns, as a landing spot for the second-year point guard, according to sources.
Phoenix has interest in becoming the third team in the Lakers and Pelicans trade talks, according to two sources.
Ball's camp has concerns about how crowded the backcourt is in New Orleans. But sources said the Pelicans view Ball as a player who would become their starting point guard because they don't see current starter Jrue Holiday as a point guard.
"Lonzo is going to be able to do whatever he wants to," one source said. "I think he thinks that Jrue is the starting point guard, but Jrue doesn't want to be a point guard. Lonzo would be the starting point guard and he would play 35 minutes every night. There's no way that he wouldn't. If he wins in New Orleans, he'll be as big of a star as he can be anywhere."
