When the Anthony Davis rumor mill was going warp speed prior to the NBA trade deadline, many thought the Los Angeles Lakers would be crazy to trade their entire young core for Anthony Davis.
Not surprisingly, Kobe Bryant wasn't in that camp.
The Lakers legend was asked about the rumored deal that would have sent Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma, among others, to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Davis, and he gave a very simple reason for why the Lakers should have pulled the trigger.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“Kuzma, Lonzo, Ingram ... are the three of them better than Anthony Davis? No! Ciao! Bye!," Bryant told Spanish website As.com, via Yahoo! Sports.
"Anthony Davis is one of the best players in the world. Not currently, in history. What are we talking about? If you can trade for Anthony Davis, you do it. If not, alright. We have three players who are very young and work hard. They’re smart and they have to develop. But if you can trade for Anthony Davis ... yes.”
Fair enough.
The deal, of course, never materialized and the Lakers, who once were thought to be the biggest threat to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference, have faded from the playoff race faster than LeBron James bolted from the Cleveland Cavaliers' locker room in 2010.
Golden State Warriors
Through the first two months of the season, the Lakers appeared to be on track for a top-four seed in the West. But injuries and trade rumors derailed their season and now they'll face an uncertain offseason before James enters his 17th NBA season, while the Warriors are primed to make a run at winning their fourth NBA title in five seasons.
[RELATED: What went right, what went wrong in Dubs' back-to-back]
If you ask the Black Mamba, the Lakers should pull the trigger on a trade for Davis the minute the offseason starts in order to vault themselves back to the top of the conference alongside the Warriors.
But that, of course, is easier said than done.