No team finds itself mentioned in more trade rumors than the Boston Celtics. Their bounty of assets and status as one of the teams on the cusp of title contention — provided they add more star power — makes them an intriguing trade partner for any team. They were strongly connected to Paul George and Jimmy Butler trade talks before failing to land either.
Landing Gordon Hayward in free agency hasn’t done anything to dispel rumors that they still are interested in more moves. Pelicans star Anthony Davis has been floated as a dream possibility for Boston fans. It’s certainly fun to think about the Celtics acquiring Anthony Davis, but now there’s some talk that’s exactly what the team would like to do.
Yahoo Sports’ Chris Mannix reported on Tuesday that Celtics executives are eager to see what the Pelicans do with Davis if things go south in the South.
Rival executives expect Boston to be keeping close tabs on New Orleans, which is entering a critical season. The Pelicans are committed to seeing if an Anthony Davis-DeMarcus Cousins frontcourt can work, but if the season goes awry, it’s widely believed the Celtics will make a strong run at Davis, who is under contract through 2020.
The Celtics already added Gordon Hayward this summer, and while the arms race isn’t as dire in the East is it is in the Western Conference there’s certainly some thinking that Boston needs to stock up to take on LeBron James and the Cavaliers if he wants to win right now.
Still, there’s little out there to suggest that the Pelicans are interested in trading Davis in the first place. They still have Boogie Cousins in New Orleans, and their chemistry had little time to shine after the All Star break. Cutting ties on that so soon seems improbable, and definitely ill-advised — not to mention, Davis is under contract through 2020 with the Pelicans.
There might be some pressure on Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry to get New Orleans going, but it seems unlikely that a frustrating season in New Orleans would result in Davis getting sent out to sea.
Besides, we have the rest of his career with the Pelicans already planned out.
