Alvin Gentry Says He’ll Trade Anthony Davis To Boston On Two Conditions

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The speculation surrounding Anthony Davis‘ future with the Pelicans has been ramping up the past couple of days. The multi-talented center is in the midst of arguably his best season as a pro, but his team has been mostly treading water in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, a reality that continues to cast doubts about a long-term partnership with DeMarcus Cousins.

With Boogie set to enter free agency next summer, the organization faces a dilemma about whether to offer him max money while they already have enormous deals in place with both Davis and Jrue Holiday that drastically limit their flexibility to shore up their depth, or move him prior to the deadline. The incredible play of both Davis and Cousins together, despite their near-.500 record, has made that question much more difficult to answer.

Some have argued that, given Davis’ durability issues, the front office should at least consider exploring the market for him. The team most connected to Davis in trade rumors (in so much as people have suggested they could put together an interesting package for AD) is the Boston Celtics.

But whatever that market might be and whatever the Celtics may consider offering, it won’t nearly be enough to get the Pelicansto act, as far as head coach Alvin Gentry is concerned, via Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald:

“I know there’s been rumors about Boston trying to trade for him or whatever,” said Gentry, “and my response to that is, yeah, we’ll trade him.

“But they’re going to have to give us the New England Patriots and the two planes that they just bought. … And I don’t think they’re going to do that. So we’re not even thinking about those kind of things.”

Adrian Wojnarowski reported last month that the Celtics were highly interested in acquiring Davis, and the Pelicans’ silence on the matter was something of a sore spot for Davis at the time. So Gentry’s hyperbolic reassurance is probably mostly a matter of repairing morale.

New Orleans is currently on a three-game win streak and is just a half-game behind the Thunder for the No. 5 spot in the West, and if they can start to find some consistency, it might be just what they need to quiet the rumors and postpone action until after the season.

(Boston Herald)

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