Anthony Davis Waiving Trade Kicker and Lakers Trading Mo Wagner to Wizards Creates Max Contract Slot
By Sean Facey
The Lakers are continuing their immense offseason overhaul.
After sending Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram to New Orleans, the Lakers are now shipping Mo Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones to the Washington Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis deal.
The Lakers are trading Mo Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones to Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis deal with New Orleans, league sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me. Deal clears contracts and creates more cap space for free agency.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2019
The move is meant to clear out contracts and give the Lakers plenty of cap space heading into free agency.
Davis is also waving his trade kicker, giving Los Angeles another $4 million to work with in addition to the room they have following the salary dump. With that money, they'll have enough space for a max contract free agent.
Anthony Davis is waiving his $4M trade kicker, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2019
The Lakers have thinned out their roster massively this offseason as they continue to try and build the supporting cast around star LeBron James.
It's a bold move to say the least. Los Angeles now has one of the thinnest rosters in the entire league. Even with a max free agent, they'd still be ridiculously top heavy.
Rob Pelinka clearly isn't worried about that, though. Right now, it's about grabbing as many high-end talents as possible for the upcoming season.