Rob Pelinka says Anthony Davis is ‘arguably the most dominant all-around young player in today’s NBA,’ calls trading for him ‘a historic moment’ for Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have finally, officially completed their long-sought trade for Anthony Davis, and now that they have, general manager Rob Pelinka can finally give his new star some grandiose praise without incurring a tampering fine.

In his first opportunity, he didn’t disappoint.

“Anthony Davis is arguably the most dominant all-around young player in today’s NBA,” Pelinka said in the press release making the Davis trade official. “Anthony represents everything we stand for, with his unwavering commitment to excellence as both a person and athlete. This is a historic moment for the Lakers franchise, and we couldn’t be more proud to have him.”

Normally Pelinka’s hyperbole is over-the-top and pretty amusing, and while this certainly fits that bill, it might also be one of the few moves that is actually worthy of this level of hype. Davis is a transformative talent, and the kind of player who instantly will pair with LeBron James to vault the Lakers towards true title contention.

The “unwavering commitment to excellence” Pelinka refers to is evident on both how Davis has maximized his own talent, and also how he’s made financial sacrifices while recruiting players he thinks can help the Lakers win.

But how historic of a day will this really be for the Lakers? A lot of that will depend on how much success Davis’ acquisition actually leads to. Can the Lakers win a title building around him and James? Multiple? It’s possible, but they’ll need some luck to do it, and have to nail all their moves on the margins.

So far they’ve mostly made decent decisions in that respect, but they are unlikely to be title favorites entering the season. Still, with James and Davis forming one of the best duos in the league, they’ll have a chance against just about anyone in the postseason. That’s probably what has Pelinka so excited now that this duo is officially locked into place.

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