Despite strong efforts from the New Orleans Pelicans to convince him to stay, All-Star center Anthony Davis looks determined to start a new journey with another team in the 2019-20 NBA season. As of now, the Pelicans are left with no choice but to find the best trade package they can get for Davis in the 2019 NBA offseason.
Over the past few months, several NBA teams have expressed strong interest in trading for Anthony Davis. Of all the potential suitors, one NBA team frequently emerged as the No. 1 favorite trade destination for Davis – the Boston Celtics. In a Twitter post, Fletcher Mackel of WDSU revealed that a source whom he trusts a lot told him that Davis will likely be traded to the Celtics if they offer a trade package centered on Jayson Tatum, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
“NBA source (who I trust a lot) told me tonight he thinks Boston is landing spot for Anthony Davis. Says Tatum is player NOLA covets most. Tatum, Smart (who @ PelicansNBA also really like), filler (Williams, Ojeyele or Yabusele) & at least pick #14 this year. I. Love. It!”
It’s definitely not surprising that Jayson Tatum is the player the Pelicans covet the most in a potential Anthony Davis trade. Tatum has shown lots of superstar potential since the time he set foot in the NBA in 2017, and he’s one of the few young players who possessed the ability to become the face of the franchise. Tatum may have failed to show massive improvement in his second year with the Celtics where he averaged 15.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals on 45.0 percent shooting from the field and 37.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc, but being traded to a team where he could be the main man could speed up his development into a legitimate NBA superstar in the league.
Report: #Celtics Are Still Going To Pursue Anthony Davis — Even If Kyrie Bolts: https://t.co/edACbLKhqV
— WBZ Boston Sports (@wbzsports) June 7, 2019
Trading a player as talented as Jayson Tatum is undeniably a tough decision for the Celtics, but it will definitely be worth it if it means acquiring a player of Anthony Davis’ caliber. Pairing Davis with Kyrie Irving could give the Celtics a higher chance of fully dominating the Eastern Conference and winning the NBA championship title in the 2019-20 NBA season. The problem is, as of now, it remains a big question mark if Irving will re-sign with the Celtics in the 2019 NBA free agency or not.
If Kyrie Irving takes his talent somewhere else, it might be better for the Celtics to continue building the team around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown instead of chasing Anthony Davis. However, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated revealed on The Crossover podcast that Celtics President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Danny Ainge will push through with their plan to trade for Davis regardless of Irving’s decision next July.
