NBA Trade Talk: Pelicans Could Forcefully Keep Anthony Davis Away From The Lakers
The rumors surrounding Anthony Davis — and him potentially being traded away to another team in the NBA — are simply not going to go away. This will likely be the case until he either signs the Supermax deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, or gets traded away. One thing is certain, Davis wants to win — but that is something which he isn’t currently doing. If it all comes down to it, Davis could demand a trade and the Pelicans may need to take a page out of another team’s playbook for it.
The speculation regarding a trade of Anthony Davis usually seems to point at the NBA superstar joining LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers. One common belief is that he will end up being traded to the Lakers — or signing with them when he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2020.
Of course, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry told NOLA that “we’re not trading him [Davis]. We’re not trading him under any circumstance. You can move on from that one.” It’s easy to understand that they want to keep Anthony Davis on the team, but a current record of 15-19 and sitting in second-to-last place in the Western Conference won’t do it.
Still, if the Pelicans don’t end up winning with the players they have right now, Davis may end up passing on the Supermax deal offered to him by the Pelicans this summer. If he does that, New Orleans will definitely look at a trade — and they may force their hand to keep him away from the Lakers.
The moves the Pelicans made to keep Anthony Davis happy could lead them to lose him (by @RobMahoney) https://t.co/7kSAa3QTqO
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 26, 2018
If it comes to the point of Anthony Davis turning down the Supermax deal offered to him, the Pelicans will have to trade him. It’s quite likely that they don’t want him to leave in free agency — and get absolutely nothing in return for one of the top stars in the entire NBA.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith made some great points recently — as reported by Express — and he even said that if anyone were to be in the shoes of the Pelicans, “why in the hell would you think about trading him?”
Smith went on to reference the San Antonio Spurs and the situation they were in with star Kawhi Leonard. The Lakers wanted Leonard and Smith said that Magic Johnson was not “willing to ship the farm for him,” so, the Spurs sent him out to the Toronto Raptors.
The point was raised that if a trade ends up becoming a necessity, it is the New Orleans Pelicans who control it — and not Anthony Davis. When the time comes, he may end up wanting to go to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Pelicans simply don’t have to allow that to happen. The only way that Davis can choose where he goes is when he becomes a free agent, but the Pelicans likely won’t allow him to get to that point while he’s under contract to New Orleans.
