There was blood in the Western Conference waters.



The mighty Golden State Warriors were no more, with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson going down in a heap during those devastating NBA Finals and the prospect of them fighting for a playoff berth next season looking entirely real. The Houston Rockets were a mess, with their second-round series loss against the then-defending-champs sparking internal talk of a complete overhaul. From there, the threats were manageable: Portland, Denver, Utah, Oklahoma City and the like.



So Rob Pelinka went for the kill. The embattled Lakers general manager who was licking his own wounds not so long ago when Magic Johnson skipped town and went after his name with such spite, and who knew that a trade of this magnitude was his only way out of this PR mess, decided to dive right in and get this Anthony Davis deal done.



The specifics, for anyone who somehow missed it: Davis goes from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Lakers in exchange...