NBA Rumors: Anthony Davis Considering Four Teams If He Chooses To Leave Pelicans, Per ‘Get More Sports’
New Orleans Pelicans center Anthony Davis won’t become a free agent until 2021, but rumors suggest that he already has a list of teams he would like to play for once his contract comes up, or if he becomes unhappy playing for the Pelicans at some point in the near future. Furthermore, it appears that one of those teams is ahead of the others as a potential landing spot for the 25-year-old All-NBA first team selection.
On Monday, Get More Sports‘ Chris Sheridan cited an unnamed source “with intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the NBA” as he reported that Davis is considering four teams to move to in the event he wants out of New Orleans “in the near and distant future.” While Davis is reportedly considering the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, and Philadelphia 76ers, Sheridan also mentioned that there’s also a possibility Davis will want to remain with the Pelicans. He did, however, add that Davis might ask for a trade sooner rather than later if New Orleans doesn’t perform as well as expected.
“The determining factor in the short term will be the level of success the Pelicans do or do not have during the first half of the upcoming 2018-19 season. If they are middle-of-the-pack or worse in the competitive Western Conference, it is more likely than not that Davis will be moved before the trading deadline.”
One note from my story last night: I've been told Kyrie Irving has spoken to Anthony Davis about a potential pairing in Boston. https://t.co/OeJDrYOxY3
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) October 5, 2018
Out of all the four other teams Davis could choose to play for if he chooses to leave the New Orleans Pelicans, Sheridan predicted that Boston will be the “ultimate long-term landing zone” for the All-Star big man, considering how Celtics president Danny Ainge has long wanted to add him to the team, and how the team has a number of promising young talents and future first-round draft picks whom they can send to New Orleans via trade.
With Anthony Davis averaging 28.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.3 assists for the Pelicans in the 2017-18 NBA season, New Orleans finished with a 48-34 record, which was good for sixth in the Western Conference, and later on swept the third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. The Pelicans were then defeated, four games to one, by the would-be NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the second round.
The new rumors connecting Anthony Davis to the Boston Celtics came less than a week after reports suggested that Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving and Davis had been talking about “what it would be like to play together in Boston,” as previously noted by the Inquisitr. Separate reports from Forbes and other publications have also pointed to the Los Angeles Lakers being a top destination for Davis, who had recently signed with Rich Paul, the same agent who represents Lakers superstar LeBron James.
