On Anthony Davis' Inevitable Path to LA

Cutting to the chase, it is clear that Anthony Davis wants to play for the Lakers, his agent Rich Paul wants him to play for the Lakers, franchise eminence grise LeBron James wants him to play for the Lakers and Lakers President Magic Johnson wants him to play for the Lakers. Which is fine, except that Davis currently plays for the Pelicans and would have to be traded to the Lakers in order to suit up for them. Various trade offers have already been bruited about, with names like Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, and the expiring contract named Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
There's just one problem with a haul like that. As has been amply demonstrated in LeBron James' injury-induced absence, those guys aren't any good at winning basketball games. If the Pelicans are going to ship out their generational talent and restock, they simply have to get more back than the guys who couldn't get it done without LeBron.

The Whos Are Playing Where?

The Dread Dormammu Commands You To Get A Smoothie!

The name of an athletic team is intended to inspire. It is supposed to be an aspirational name, a name that can be chanted by throngs of devoted fans. It is supposed to be an aggressive name, a name that supporters will want to wear on their replica jerseys and t-shirts and hoodies and jackets, that they'll want to slap bumper stickers and tiny flags of on their cars. Think Lions, think Tigers, think Bears and Broncos and Seahawks and Predators. It is supposed to be, in a word, awesome.

Your Handy-Dandy Guide to the Trades Made At and Around the NBA Draft

The Philadelphia 76ers trade PG Jrue Holiday and a 2nd round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for Nerlens Noel and next year's (protected) first round pick

Translation: The Sixers have decided to blow the whole thing up and start over with Noel and a couple of probable lottery picks next year. To get a good lottery pick, it helps if you don't have a lot of good players, so they ditched their best one on a them that's in a hurry to win now. When people say hopefully "build around Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young", you know you're going to have a lot of ping pong balls next year.