The day the Pelicans have been dreading (and hoping would never arrive) is here as Anthony Davis has requested a trade out of New Orleans.
Davis and agent Rich Paul have asked the Pelicans to trade him to a contender, making it clear he would not re-sign this summer with New Orleans. This news has, naturally, created rampant speculation about where he’s most likely to go, but it’s clear right now there are a few frontrunners for his services. The Lakers sit at the top of the list and it appears to be the place Davis’ camp is trying to steer him to, but there are questions about whether L.A.’s young core provides enough value for New Orleans to trade him there.
The Knicks also have interest, but their best assets are the currently injured Kristaps Porzingis (who they may not want to trade and who may not want to stay in NOLA for long anyways) and their 2019 pick, which no one knows how valuable that will be until after the lottery. The Celtics likewise can’t make a deal until this summer because of the CBA’s Rose Rule, but Davis’ camp has indicated he’s not all that interested in staying in Boston long-term, citing doubts about Kyrie Irving staying with the Celtics this summer.
For the next 10 days until the Feb. 7 deadline, these kinds of reports and rumors will swirl, and the Pelicans addressed the situation publicly on Monday afternoon. The team released a statement saying they will do things on their own timeline, not anyone else’s (as they should), and that they’ve asked the league to be sure to enforce tampering rules as they try to trade Davis.
https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA/status/1090004873100312576
The tampering line seems directed at the Lakers, particularly, given LeBron James’ comments earlier in the season and Rich Paul being, you know, one of James’ best friends along with being his agent. It’s clear the Pelicans are not pleased with how all of this is going down and it would seem as though they’ll take their time on this matter, given that their only leverage is to pit other teams against each other for Davis’ services. The best time for them to do that is this summer, but it’s possible an unbelievable offer comes their way prior to the deadline.
