Anthony Davis has struggled to stay healthy and available for the Dallas Mavericks since his arrival in Texas as a part of the Luka Doncic trade last season. If today's round of rumors are to be believed, that is something the Los Angeles Lakers could have predicted.
Brett Siegel dropped what he called 'bombshell details' on the quiet feud that had taken place between Davis and the Lakers during his final season with the Lakers. What began as a great relationship upon the arrival in Los Angeles had quietly deteriorated, according to reports.
Siegel's sources described Davis' fitness levels entering training camps as 'well below average.' There were growing concerns about how the former champion took care of his body in the offseason.
“There were moments in the preseason where we wondered if he had even worked out at all in the summer,” sources told Siegel of the lead-up to 2024-25. "He would come back, go through warmups, and then either sit out to be with the training staff or basically half-ass what the team was doing."
Anthony Davis' relationship with Lakers took a major hit in his final year
Siegel's source added that it was clear Davis was out of shape towards the end of his Lakers stint. That was reportedly a big change in the approach to the work ethic at the beginning of his time in Los Angeles.
Davis' trade value was reportedly quietly being gauged by the Lakers front office before the Doncic trade even materialized. When the Lakers big man openly spoke to Shams Charania about the need to add a center, Siegel claimed it was the 'last straw.'
That all really sounds like a point of no return, if the intel gathered is correct. Jeanie Buss had hinted in the past about Davis' disgruntlement in Los Angeles, but the story here paints a harsher picture than one would have imagined.
The injury concerns speak for themselves. Couple that with the financial restraints of bringing back Davis, and just flat-out better targets existing on the Mavericks, it really does not seem that a return to Los Angeles is anywhere near a real possibility.
In all fairness, it probably never was.
The idea has definitely been floated around a fair bit since Nico Harrison got the boot in Dallas. However, the idea of Davis coming back was always more of a good chuckle than it was a practical reality.