In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s been a busy couple of days around the association. The main story in the last 24 hours has been the Kristaps Porzingis trade that rocked the league on Thursday, in large part because of the speed with which it transpired after the initial rumors emerged on Twitter.
In less than hour, Porzingis and several of his teammates had been dealt to Dallas in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, and Wes Matthews in a blockbuster deal that caught the basketball world almost completely by surprise.
That diverted at least some attention from the ongoing Anthony Davis story, since the All-Star center demanded a trade earlier in the week and has since been awaiting to learn his fate. Now, it appears he almost ended up in New York in exchange for Porzingis, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who is reporting that the Pelicans apparently balked at a deal surrounding the Latvian big man.
Anthony Davis is focused on the Lakers as his top preferred destination, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium. The Knicks are also as a preferred landing spot, and made push to New Orleans with offer around Kristaps Porzingis before the Dallas deal.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2019
The other nugget embedded there is the new development that the Knicks were or are still one of Davis’ preferred destinations in a possible trade. This goes against earlier reports that claimed Davis wouldn’t re-sign with anyone except the Lakers, even if Charania did say Los Angeles appears to be option No. 1.
The latest rumors say the Lakers have offered up just about all of their young stars to try and land Davis, though the Pelicans remain somewhat reluctant to make a deal prior to next week’s deadline and could decide to hang onto him until the summer when teams have more flexibility.
