Anthony Davis responded to former teammate Kyle Kuzma after he defended Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka on Thursday.
Davis initially dropped laughing emojis in response to a post from LeBron James’ friend “Cuffs The Legend,” who claimed that the Lakers had “backdoored” Davis and the 22-time NBA All-Star by not getting a star center despite repeated requests.
Kuzma replied to this post, saying that Pelinka and the Lakers couldn’t have done the deal because of Davis and James’ salaries.
“You can’t get a center when two people making $600M lol,” he wrote.
Davis replied with a four-word reaction:
“Stop it 0 lol.”
James left the franchise in the offseason, and Pelinka ended up getting Walker Kessler on a four-year, $130 million contract in exchange for two first-round picks.
Davis and Kuzma played together for two years, including the 2019-20 championship team. In that season, the Lakers had two reliable options at the five next to Davis in JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard.
However, after that season, Los Angeles didn’t invest in big men who could start, pushing Davis to play the position, which he was against. Davis felt that if the Lakers acquired a center, they had a real shot of winning another championship with him and James as the co-stars.
However, Pelinka didn’t budge and traded Davis in 2025 for Luka Doncic. Shortly before the trade, in January of that year, Davis went public in an interview with ESPN’s Shams Charania, demanding that the Lakers sign a big man.
Why the Lakers obliged Luka Doncic but not Anthony Davis
The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t hesitate to meet Luka Doncic’s demands, and it’s not difficult to see why. With Doncic, the Lakers have a franchise star for the next five to eight years. Moreover, the Lakers don’t have any options at the five in a conference with Victor Wembanyama, who reached the finals in his first postseason run.
Secondly, the Lakers had cap space and two first-round picks to trade with the Utah Jazz, who were seemingly more inclined to trade Walker Kessler now than before, when Davis was Los Angeles’ franchise centerpiece.
With Davis on the roster, the Lakers didn’t feel the need to add a center, as the 10-time All-Star proved his mettle as one of the best bigs in the league. Davis had his most successful seasons with the Lakers, playing at center.
The Lakers also had one eye on the future. Anthony Davis was in his 30s and inching closer to his twilight. Meanwhile, LeBron James had contemplated retirement every offseason since 2023. And so, Los Angeles kept its options open by retaining assets.
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