Anthony Davis has solidified himself as a superstar for years to come, despite suffering numerous injuries throughout his career. Ever since leading the Kentucky Wildcats to a national championship in 2012, Davis has been in the national spotlight. He seemingly never stops impressing fans with his mesmerizing scoring, stellar rebounding, and elite defense, and he has been at the center of the Pelicans franchise since he was drafted by them, back when they were the Hornets. He is currently an MVP contender, as he’s averaging an astounding 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 2.56 blocks per game.

Although Anthony Davis has remained loyal to the Pelicans franchise for the past 7 years, the time has come for him to part ways with the injury-stricken team. Last season, Pelicans GM Dell Demps attempted to surround Davis with the talent needed to make a deep playoff run in the form of Demarcus Cousins, Nikola Mirotic, and others, in addition to Jrue Holiday, one of the best two-way guards in the NBA. After countless injuries, primarily Cousin’s season-ending ruptured Achilles, the Pelicans lost 4-1 to the Golden State Warriors in the 2nd round of the playoffs. In the current season, the Pelicans haven’t fared much better. Currently 8 games behind the 8th seed Los Angeles Clippers, Anthony Davis was bound to leave at some point due to the team’s lackluster performance in giving the superstar the talent he needs to win.

After his agent, Rich Paul, announced today that Davis would be seeking a trade and would not sign the $230 million supermax extension available in 2020, fans, coaches, and managers have been going crazy. Nearly every NBA team wants this bonafide superstar. Although nearly every team in the league will likely take a shot at the 5x NBA All-Star, here are the 3 most likely landing places for Anthony Davis right now:

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers want to surround Lebron with the best talent in the league, and what better way to do that than by trading for Davis. Over the past couple of months, the Lakers have expressed interest in Davis, but this will come at a price to the championship-hungry team. The Lakers need to be prepared to offer most of their young core in exchange for the superstar. The problem is that Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Brandon Ingram haven’t taken a step forward this season. Ivica Zubac has shown promise, but the Pelicans will be seeking guaranteed talent for Davis. The Lakers must be prepared to part ways with anyone, except Lebron, in order to land Davis. But without a guaranteed future all-star in any of these players, the Lakers will have a hard time competing with the vast amount of assets which the Celtics are ready to offer.

Projected Trade

Los Angeles Lakers receive:

Anthony Davis, Elfrid Payton

New Orleans Pelicans receive:

Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell Pope, any first-round pick

Boston Celtics

Assuming New Orleans is willing to wait until July 1, the Celtics can put forth the most enticing offer for Davis. Due to the Rose Rule, the Celtics can not trade for Davis until the summer, but their assets will likely be too hard to resist. The Celtics will still have the right mix of draft assets Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Gordon Hayward to get a deal done in July. This would allow Davis to pair up with Kyrie Irving, one of the most dominant point guards in the league. The only way this trade will not happen is if another team offers an irresistible deal before the trade deadline, but many teams just don’t have enough to offer without tearing up their core.

Projected Trade

Boston Celtics receive:

Anthony Davis

New Orleans Pelicans receive:

Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, any first-round pick

Philadelphia 76ers

The most intriguing potential trade for Anthony Davis comes in the form of the 76ers, specifically for Ben Simmons. The trade would offer the Pelicans a young star who could give New Orleans an anchor to build their team around. For the 76ers, the trade would make them a serious championship contender for this season and for the next. If the 76ers stick to their win-now philosophy, this trade will likely be one of the few offers to rival the offers of the Celtics and the Lakers. The finances would be difficult to work out, but this trade could give Philadelphia the championship they desperately want through a superstar trio of Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid, and Anthony Davis.

Projected Trade

Philadelphia Sixers receive:

Anthony Davis

New Orleans Pelicans receive:

Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Wilson Chandler, 2019 76ers first-round pick, 2021 Miami first-round pick

The post The Hunt Is On For Anthony Davis appeared first on The Spax.

Bol Bol has basketball in his blood. His father was Manute Bol, a former NBA center who in his career had over 2,000 blocks which is 15th among all NBA players to date. A contributing factor to his enormous amount of blocks might be that Manute was the tallest player to ever play in the NBA at a whopping 7’7 (Tied with Gheorghe Mureșan). Manute was known for his stellar rim protecting ability, and he is the only player in NBA history to have more blocks than points. Even though the rest of Manute’s game was fairly unimpressive, the same cannot be said for his son. Bol Bol is already proving himself to be an extremely versatile center, being able to not only block and rebound exceptionally but hit shots from all over the court, even from beyond the arc. As of now, Bol Bol has only played 5 regular season games with Oregon, but he has a 56% field goal percentage and is shooting an astounding 54% on 3-pointers. If NBA scouts weren’t eyeing him before, they most definitely are now.

Against Texas Southern, Bol Bol dropped 32 points in only 31 minutes, displaying his strong offensive skillset which can only get better as he continues to gain experience facing many of the best players in college basketball. He shot 4/6 from beyond the arc against Texas Southern and although it is still very early in the season, the shooting potential is definitely there. With the 3-point shot becoming more and more prevalent in the NBA for players of all sizes, big men such as Joel Embiid and Al Horford are taking more threes than ever and Bol is proving that he too can adapt to this playstyle. Bol also has the ability to dunk while barely jumping. His vertical skill is very useful to have as he will presumably spend the majority of his playing time in close proximity to the rim.

Bol is also a defensive force, which is much more expected than his exceptional offensive skills. He is averaging 2.8 blocks per game, thanks to his height listing at 7’3 with a crazy 7’8 wingspan. In addition, he is averaging 10 rebounds a game and he even had 3 steals against Syracuse, who was ranked #15 nationally at the time (Oregon won the game 80-65). Similar to his offensive ability, his defense will only improve over time, which will bode well come draft day.

In an exciting 2019 draft class full of big names such as Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Romeo Langford, Bol Bol is sure to be in the mix with the abundance of talent and versatility he has shown so far. Although Oregon had a tough loss against underdog Texas Southern, they will look to bounce back in their game this Saturday against Houston, who is off to a strong start at 5-0. Scouts and fans across the country will have their eyes on Bol as the exciting and unpredictable college basketball season continues, and only time will tell if Bol Bol can live up to the hype.

Image Source: Getty Images

The post Bol Bol: Future NBA Superstar? appeared first on The Spax.