One of the key questions about the original version of the Anthony Davis trade agreed to on June 15 was when it would be completed. Unless the Lakers could wait until July 30 to make the deal using the salary of this year's No. 4 pick, doing so with the players involved would have required them to cut into their cap space to take back Davis' salary.
After the New Orleans Pelicans traded the No. 4 pick on to the Atlanta Hawks, it became clear that those two teams weren't going to wait on the Lakers to get their draft picks signed and playing in the NBA summer league in Las Vegas (which begins July 5). So the onus was on the Lakers to find a way to make the Davis trade without using cap space. Enter the Wizards, who agreed to take back three players so the Lakers can send out enough to match Davis' salary after he agreed to waive his $4 million trade bonus.
After grading the first version of the trade here, let's look at how the Lakers and Wizards did in this updated version of the deal.
The deal | Original trade grades
Pelicans get: Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, 2019 No. 4 pick, 2021 first-rounder protected Nos. 9-30 (becomes unprotected in 2022), first-round swap rights in 2023, 2024 first-round pick with the option to defer to 2025, cash
Lakers get: Anthony Davis
Wizards get: Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, 2020 second-round pick
