AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
The Los Angeles Lakers have wasted no time this offseason, keeping their key contributors while making smart acquisitions in Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes. These moves have bolstered the Lakers’ roster, adding much-needed depth and versatility to complement the pairing of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
But while the Lakers have loaded up in a major way, the success of the team remains closely tied to the availability and performance of Davis. Notably, LeBron has been vocal about passing the torch to the superstar big man in recent years, but Davis’ inconsistent play and injury issues have hindered him from fully embracing that responsibility.
As the Lakers continue to improve their roster, former NBA center and current NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins has now turned his attention to Davis, highlighting the crucial role that he has to embrace in the upcoming season. With firm expectations, Perkins called for the 30-year-old Lakers big man to lead the team to a championship and assert his place among the ranks of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.
“Anthony Davis, this is on you. And I know we keep like Dame Lillard conversation about when he’s gonna ask for a trade, we keep wondering when is AD going to be healthy. But damn it, the Lakers have done everything that they need to do to put the pieces around you, not LeBron, around you, to actually put you in a position to go out there and play your best basketball…
He has zero excuses on why he shouldn’t get it done this season, not just winning the championship but continue to put his name in the conversation with guys like Giannis, Jokic, and Embiid because the talent is there.”
