NBA Rumors: Knicks Could Offer Package Centered On Kristaps Porzingis For Anthony Davis, Frank Isola Suggests
The New Orleans Pelicans suddenly became the center of trade rumors after Anthony Davis reportedly expressed his desire to be moved before the February NBA trade deadline. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Davis’ representative, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, has informed the Pelicans that the All-Star big man has no intention of signing a massive contract extension and wants to be traded to a team where he can win consistently and contend for the NBA championship title.
On Twitter, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated gave his opinion on Anthony Davis’ decision to demand a trade from the Pelicans less than two weeks before the February NBA trade deadline.
“There’s really only one reason for AD’s agent to go public with a trade demand this early—to give the Lakers a head start on trade talks before Boston can get into the mix this summer. Why else risk AD spending the next few months as the villain?”
Since hiring Rich Paul as his new agent, rumors and speculations have already been swirling that Anthony Davis could join LeBron James, who is also represented by the Klutch Sports Group, in Los Angeles. The Lakers have a plethora of trade assets that can convince the Pelicans to engage in a blockbuster deal. In another Twitter post, Frank Isola of The Athletic echoed the same sentiment as Chris Mannix, but he’s thinking if the New York Knicks should consider offering a package centered on Kristaps Porzingis to the Pelicans for Davis.
“This Anthony Davis play is all about the Lakers but I wonder if the Knicks make a call to New Orleans offering Kristaps in a package for Davis?”
ESPN story on agent Rich Paul informing New Orleans that All-NBA star Anthony Davis won't sign an extension and wants a trade. https://t.co/7e7FCVKHAy
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019
The Knicks may not be able to match the offers of the Boston Celtics and the Lakers for Anthony Davis, but Kristaps Porzingis will undeniably be an intriguing acquisition for the Pelicans. Porzingis is far from reaching Davis’ level, but they have the same skill set. Both big men can play both the power forward and center positions and are good scorers, rebounders, rim protectors, and floor spacers. Though Porzingis is set to become a free agent next July, the Pelicans only need to match offers from other NBA teams to bring back the player who could be the next face of their franchise.
Having Anthony Davis on their roster will give the Knicks a strong chance of ending their playoff drought. When the 2018-19 NBA season is over, the Knicks could create enough salary cap space to sign a free agent superstar to pair with Davis. However, if the Knicks have any plan of trading for Davis, they should first get assurance from him that he intends to stay long-term in New York. Davis could become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2020 where the Knicks could risk losing Kristaps Porzingis for a one-year rental.
