What Will The Pelicans Prioritize In An Anthony Davis Trade?


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The clock is now ticking on the New Orleans Pelicans to find a deal for Anthony Davis. They technically have until February 2020 before they absolutely have to move him, but one would expect a trade to be in place before the start of next season.

We’ve debated whether they’re better off trying to trade him before the deadline or this summer, but the answer to that, as well as the answer to what team should be the favorite to land Davis, will come down to what New Orleans identifies as their priorities in a deal. We’ve seen a few different approaches to this over the years and below we’ll break down the value of each and what teams can offer the best package in that category.

There are, for the most part, three routes for the Pelicans to take in terms of prioritizing value in a Davis trade … plus a fourth caveat that may be very important to them.

1. Getting the best player possible with multiple years left on his deal

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This is the Spurs method, as San Antonio swapped Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green for DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl. While Poeltl represented something of a young asset, this deal was all about remaining competitive in the present and bringing in an All-Star talent for their better, but disgruntled, All-Star talent. The Pelicans probably won’t go this route with a veteran like DeRozan, but they could do it with a young star near the end of their rookie deal.

The Sixers apparently won’t be in the Davis sweepstakes, but should something change by this summer and they make Ben Simmons available (which I should note is highly unlikely to happen especially given he’s another Rich Paul client), that probably is the best single player value New Orleans could get for Davis, should Philly want to go Twin Towers with Davis and Embiid. The Knicks can also make a very intriguing offer in this vein by putting Kristaps Porzingis on the table, who will be an RFA this summer, which means the Pelicans could match any offer sheet he signs and lock him down for four years, unless he’s so daring to sign a qualifying offer coming off of knee surgery.

Other hypothetical possibilities, however unlikely, could be C.J. McCollum from Portland, Bradley Beal from Washington (if the Wiz wanted to try a Wall-Davis Kentucky tandem), or Chris Paul from Houston (NOLA homecoming and all of that).

2. Acquiring a number of young players with potential and develop a strong young core

This is what the Pacers did in trading Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, who have emerged as excellent players in their roles over their two years in Indiana. It’s important to note that Davis should have a good bit more value than George on the trade market, so the Pelicans should be able to command better players than Oladipo and Sabonis were considered to be two summers ago.

The obvious package here is the Lakers putting Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and a pick on the table for Davis, but the Pelicans may not be in love with that, especially given what we know that group’s immediate ceiling is as a unit, although that’s not to say it can’t improve in the future. Boston can offer a much better package of young guys this summer, should the Pelicans wait until them, with Jayson Tatum and/or Jaylen Brown as the young centerpiece with, potentially, Gordon Hayward or Al Horford as the veteran piece to make the money work, along with some picks.

3. Getting the most (and best) NBA Draft assets possible

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The Process method may not be a popular choice in New Orleans, but it might make sense to strip this thing down and rebuild totally. Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic, and others are reportedly available for the right price, and they may go for a combination of options 2 and 3 to build a young core with the potential to add young stars through the draft. Boston has a treasure trove of picks and could put together a strong, future-facing package for New Orleans that wouldn’t necessarily have to include Horford or Hayward if New Orleans wanted to go full on rebuild.

The top pick in the 2019 NBA Draft could very well be the trump card in all negotiations should the Pelicans wait until draft night to make a trade, because it could net them at least seven years of Zion Williamson. The problem for the Pelicans in getting the top pick is the only team really in the hunt for that pick that would actually consider dealing it for Davis would be the Knicks. If we get past the deadline with Davis still in New Orleans, they’ll be rooting hard for the ping pong balls to fall in the Knicks’ favor. The Bulls, Cavs, Suns, Hawks, Grizzlies, and Magic all probably know Davis won’t re-sign there, so they’re better off just keeping Zion.

4. Not sending him to L.A. out of spite

It’s possible teams will be scared of putting the absolute best offer on the table for Davis out of fear he could leave after the 2019-20 season, as the Lakers seem to be his focus. Paul George staying in Oklahoma City creates some hope in this scenario, but that also is a bit of a unique outcome. Kawhi Leonard in Toronto might be the true test of what a team can accomplish when a player is otherwise laser-focused on going to a certain place, but we may not know that until after a Davis deal is done.

There is reason for the Lakers to get this done via trade rather than wait until 2020 and waste another LeBron James season, as he’s only getting older. However, the Pelicans seem fairly miffed about how all of this has gone down. New Orleans has requested the league keep an eye out for tampering and it wouldn’t be a surprise if, like the Pacers did with refusing to deal George in the East, the Pelicans simply take what may seem like a slightly lesser deal to not let him go to the Lakers so easily.

What’s the most spiteful place the Pelicans could send Davis? For my money, Detroit. Andre Drummond, a pick, and some young-ish filler to maybe take on Solomon Hill as well in return. The Pistons get a full year of AD and Blake to sell some tickets and briefly keep Griffin from hating everything. The possibility exists that this ends in somewhat ugly fashion with Davis and New Orleans, and Davis going somewhere far away from the big cities he wants to be in, even if it means slightly lesser value in return than what L.A. could offer.

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