In the days leading up to the NBA trade deadline, proposals from the Lakers to the Pelicans kept ending up in media reports.
The Lakers wanted Anthony Davis, and they were willing to trade anyone — except LeBron James — to make that deal happen. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma — they were all available.
The matter in which the Pelicans negotiated seemed unusual, and as the deadline expired without a Davis trade, ESPN reported that it was all a petty ploy to tank the Lakers’ chemistry as revenge for potential tampering.
On Sunday, Magic Johnson confirmed that the Pelicans operated in bad faith.
Johnson spoke to reporters ahead of the Lakers’ Sunday matchup with the 76ers, and he admitted that the Pelicans negotiated exactly how they expected the team to — with one-sided trade talks done through the media.
Yet, the Lakers still engaged with New Orleans.
The Lakers president, though, downplayed how much the Pelicans’ tactics actually worked. Sure, the Lakers lost by 42 when basically every player was leaked in a trade proposal, but they bounced back to beat the Celtics. Magic pointed out that the Lakers are professionals who can deal with trade rumors.
Still, the Pelicans did the Lakers dirty.
