NBA 2018-19: 3 possible reasons why Anthony Davis may not join Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James takes the spotlight with him wherever he goes. When he chose LA to be his next rebuilding ground, the city knew they were in for a ride. But what transpired in the days that followed his signing was something no NBA expert could have imagined even in his wildest dreams.

LeBron tried to repeat a mid-season team shuffle, drawing inspiration from what happened to the Cavs roster last season. Sadly, the NBA universe could not be treated with the dream pairing of the generational talent in Anthony Davis with The King himself before the trade deadline. Well, not for now at least.

What lies next in this bizarre saga of abrupt endings is a probable signing of Davis by the Los Angeles Lakers in the off-season. But what if things don't turn out to be as the majority believes yet again? What if the Lakers are to start the 2019-20 campaign without Davis on their side?

If so, let's prepare ourselves for all the possible reasons because of which this might actually happen. 'No AD to LA' is a fairly unpopular opinion, to say the least, and here we try and investigate as to why it can turn out to quite a tangible reality in the coming future.

#1 The Lakers are not even making the playoffs, and a lot of work remains to be done

The Lakers are currently 9.5 games behind the 8th seed.

LeBron hasn't missed the playoffs since the 2004-05 season, and has been a part of the last eight consecutive NBA Finals series. This sweet streak of his will end this year.

The Lakers are currently in 11th place on the Western Conference leaderboard, and have practically given up on any possible hope to make it to the postseason. LeBron has been put on a minutes restriction and the team is just going through the motions with 12 games remaining of their miserable regular season.

Clearly, the above scenario doesn't offer an enticing landing spot for any megastar who wants to contend for a championship as soon as next year. From the coach to the support crew on the court, the Lakers have been unable to radiate hope in the remotest way possible for anyone interested to take the leap of faith.

#2 There might be nothing left to play with in LA, if and when AD arrives

GM Dell Demps was fired soon after the Davis saga drew to a close.

Magic Johnson nearly put the entire roster on the plate for the New Orleans Pelicans in the bid to land Anthony Davis in return. As is public knowledge, that led to more despair and mental damage to the Lakers young core than it did any good to the organization.

The Lakers have offered a new package to New Orleans that includes multiple young players, multiple draft picks and Pelicans salary cap relief for Anthony Davis, league sources tell ESPN. The offer appears to move closer to the objectives that the Pelicans are pursuing in a deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 4, 2019

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Come this offseason, Magic will have to resume talks with the reshuffled Pelicans front office in a renewed hope to bag Davis once and for all. In the process, the Lakers might have to let go of assets they have so dearly nurtured - even in an ideal Demps-less scenario to begin with.

The fine line between not depleting themselves of too many resources and landing a major talent is something LA should be ready for. The worst case scenario is that they find themselves unable to surround their stars with apt support on paper, thereby leading to another train-wreck of a season.

#3 It can be argued that LeBron is not the same that he was a few years ago

LeBron James missed 18 games due to a groin injury.

There are a lot of firsts for LeBron James in his 'first' season in a Lakers uniform this year. One of them is his first ever 18-game absence from the court at a stretch.

The guy is 34 years old, and did an 82-game regular season just this past season.

Seeing LeBron sit at the sidelines for so long is not something the NBA universe is used to. Many attribute the Lakers' poor performance to the King's groin injury during the Christmas day game, but that can be argued.

He carried a relatively playoff-inexperienced Cleveland Cavaliers side all the way to the NBA Finals and averaged 34 points in the postseason while doing so. This year he's averaging the most he has in the past eight seasons but almost seems detached and not-so-driven doing so.

Fueling the unpopular 'No AD to LA' opinion might be the hypothesis that this just might be the beginning of the end for the Kid from Akron.