NFL Draft 2019: Quarterback Rankings

We have not seen a verified quarterback rich draft in sometime in the NFL. Even last season, where 5 were taken in the first round, was hardly a war chest of game ready QBs who stepped in ready to become stars. This year's class brings more of the same to bare, as there are, once again, more questions than answers regarding each member of the 2019 QB draft class.

In years past, I have given you an average ranking of each prospect in each draft class, based on several different draft service rankings. I am ditching that concept in 2019, and will firmly base these rankings on my own notes throughout the process, for each position. I promise you that they will likely differ from most services. I will give you my honest portrayal of each prospect throughout the draft process based on my own findings only, and we begin with the 2019 quarterback class.

2019 Quarterbacks

1st Round Grade

1. Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State
There is simply no other QB in this draft class that comes close to what Haskins brings in 2019. Like all others in this class, he brings more questions than answers, but he is light years ahead of everyone else in this group, so take that for what it is worth. He has solid size (6-3, 220), and is built to look much bigger in pads. He has the requisite arm strength to win now, but the one thing he does not have is extended experience, as he was a one year starter at Ohio State.

Pros: His size is impressive, and he hold sup well in the pocket. He is not a true runner, and although he can run when needed, he is an absolute pass first QB in every way, as he rushed for just 180 yards last fall at Ohio State. He is incredibly accurate, as he never completed fewer than 70% of his passes in two seasons in Columbus. He finds the open man, does it quickly, and reads through progressions like a pro already. He does not force what is not given, and rarely makes key mistakes with the football. He had a ratio of over 5:1 on TDs to INTs in 2018, which is highly impressive, given how often he threw the football (38.1 attempts per game). He threw less than one INT per game over the course of the season.
His football IQ seems off the charts right now, and he is only going to get stronger in his reads as he learns the system more as he matures as a player.

Cons: There are some issues that run hand in hand with his youth and general immaturity as a player on the field at times. I am not saying that Haskins cannot control a huddle or an offense, but by maturity, I am referring to his general overall youth as a player who has not seen a ton of time as a starting QB. In essence, I am referring to a general lack of key on-field experience overall.
He needs to command the pocket more as a field general, as he does, at times, get nervous in key situations, and he allows the pocket to break down quickly. He will also make a throw too quickly at times rather than allowing the play to develop to its full intent. That comes from youth and nerves, as on other plays, he can show patience and read through progressions beautifully. He needs to find his center and play like someone commanding the field at all times, and not let the field play him.
He does possess some mechanical issues, specifically relating to footwork, but these are things that are learned over time, and time is not something he has had much of at this point. These are also items that can be worked out through coaching and development as a pro.

Overview: Haskins is the absolute best QB in this draft class, and could go to the Giants at the #6 spot, but the Raiders could also look hard at kicking the tires at #4, if they do not lose their minds and completely over spend for Kyler Murray, which would be a huge mistake, and would not fill a need. Haskins should be afforded some time, as much as a full season, to develop on the bench, as Patrick Mahomes did, before being thrust in as a starter, if a team is to see his full potential. If that happens, he can develop into a solid future starter for a team in need, but he should not be rushed, as his development is not nearly complete.

2. Drew Lock, Missouri
I am not as sold on Lock as I am on Haskins at this point. Lock was not the nearly immediate success at Missouri as Haskins was at Ohio State, and some of that could have to do with not having the same kind of talent around him. It's not that his numbers were bad, as they were not, but some of the intangibles are differing overall between the two, especially when it comes to overall accuracy. Still, Lock should be seen as someone who should start out in a developmental role, with a starters future if a team handles his career appropriately.

Pros: Lock has tossed just 21 INTs in 856 collegiate passing attempts over the last two seasons, which is a solid look at his ability to make smart decisions with the football in the passing game. The previous two seasons saw him toss 18 in 697 attempts, so as a four year player, his ability to process the field showed significant improvement over time. That also signifies that he can be coached, and is learning. He completed just 49% of his passes as a freshman, and evolved into completing 62% as a senior, again, showing a process in development with his overall game. His final season TD:INT ratio was 3.5:1, whereas when he was a freshman, it was an abysmal 1:2. Again, development.
He showed vast potential at the Senior Bowl, where NFL coaches stated that he was an apt learner who processed an NFL offense fairly quickly.
He possesses a cannon arm, and he can make all the throws necessary. One of his better traits is in how he can bounce back from a poor performance, as those things do not stick in his head. He learns from his mistakes and moves on.

Cons: He can be streaky at times, and some scouts have him billed as a system QB, who may need to fit a certain attack in an NFL offense to be successful, and I would tend to agree to a point. He also does not have the trait of being a leader from the front, and can be a bit on the quiet side, and will not take control of a team.
In the NFL, a QB has to basically be the face of the franchise, but he does not like the spotlight, and that role may very well not work for him. His inability to take charge and be a vocal leader as an NFL QB may not endear him to teammates on the field.
He has had the very bad trait of playing his worst games against the best teams that he has to face, which makes one wonder if he can get up when he needs to, or will he be a middle of the road performer who cannot win the big game when needed. It would seem that the pressure makes him implode a bit at times.
His accuracy has not been great during his four year career, and he had his max out season in 2018 at just over 62%. He may be on the rise in that department, but it has taken some time to get there, as his previous high was 57.8%.

Overview: Lock is a good, but not great option for a team desperately in need at the position. He lacks general leadership qualities, and that makes him a no go for me moving into this draft at this position. His ceiling is hard to grade, as he is still improving, but as he showed serious improvement as a senior in some ways, he stepped back in others. Someone will take a first round flyer on him based on his improving numbers and film, and because he showed an ability to pick up and process an NFL playbook quickly in the Senior Bowl, and scouts generally liked him across the board as someone that a staff could work with. If he wants to succeed, he will have to come out of his shell and be a team leader, and that may or may not work with him. Time will tell. Again, he is not a day one ready starting QB, and will need at least a year to adjust to the next level. Rushing him could end up being incredibly detrimental.

Round 2 Grade

3. Daniel Jones, Duke
Jones was an under the radar type coming out of high school, as he was a 2 star recruit who was thrust into action early in his college career. Jones has gotten on the radar in a big way this off-season, as he has amazing NFL size for the position, and he was coached in college by David Cutcliffe, who also coached both Manning brothers in college. Overall, he is a player who is exactly what you see. He will not blow you away with his numbers, but he will bring smarts and coachability to the next level.

Pros: At 6-5, he has the height and body type that NFL scouts are looking for, and he has the ability to add 15-20 more lbs. to his frame without bulking out. He has solid arm strength, and has been coached well in college by Cutcliffe.
His pocket presence has been praised, and he has the ability to hang in and make plays under pressure. He has solid depth on this throws, and has accuracy downfield, which is a rarity in this class.
Scouts appreciate his overall football IQ, and he studies film well. He is adept at being a strong practice QB, and knows where the ball needs to go in game play decisions based on his prep work during the week.
Despite being a big guy, he can move, and can move the pocket with his feet as well, much like Tom Brady when he was younger. He has not always had top flight talent around him, and with a solid NFL bevy of offensive weapons around him, he could finally be ready to let loose, which he has not truly done until now.

Cons: Several people in the league looked at Jones as a player who maybe should have returned to school in 2019 to get one more full season of development. His numbers have been a little bit all over the place, and he has yet to turn in one really outstanding season at the position. 2018 was a season in which he finally broke the 2:1 TD to INT ratio, but just barely. He has the ability to turn the football over too many times compared to his scoring plays, and that is not sustainable on the next level.
He will need to shorten his delivery, as he has a tendency to wind up for a big throw, which allows pass rushers more time to get at him.
Jones also suffered a collarbone injury in 2018, which should be healed completely, but it is something worth looking at moving forward.
Lacking a big season, Jones is someone I would, if I were in charge of a team, be someone who I would be wary of at this point based on a lack of outstanding output, and an inconsistent approach to each season. He certainly is not near starter ready at this point of his career, and thrusting him into that role would probably end badly.

Overview: Jones has some nice NFL intangibles, but he also has a spotty resume that does not scream early round QB to me. This is a weak class, however, and some teams like things about him that they would ignore in a stronger yer for the position. Therefore, he gets graded a bit higher than I would normally like based on the overall lack of strength in the class. He could go as early as round one, but if you are placing that kind of investment in someone, you would need more general readiness out of that prospect, and that is something that I do not see him providing you.
Jones is, at best, a developmental prospect in this class, who is a few years away from being ready to regularly contribute on this level. In short, another season at Duke may have served him well.

4. Kyle Shurmer, Vanderbilt
Shurmer is yet another QB from a non traditional program that did not win as much as one would like. Still, he has pedigree, as he is the son of Pat Shurmer, head coach of the Giants. When you look at what he was able to do at Vanderbilt, at times, you are left impressed, as it is hard to find success there on any level. He is yet another steadily developing QB in this class, who has been underrated by most, but is still not yet ready to be a full-time provider of services on the next level.

Pros: Shurmer is a smart QB on the field, who has yet to reach his full potential. He can easily be coached up, and may very well be the one of the more underrated QBs in this class because of a lack of a big stage to this point. He has a strong arm, and can get things done, even on a team almost void of any discernible talent around him.
As a senior, he tossed a 4:1 TD to INT ratio, and completed a career high 62.6% of his passes. Again, he did that without much in the way of talent surrounding him at key offensive positions, and he did not nearly have the best line available to work behind.
We could very well have a raw gem in this class that has yet to be formed into someone workable as a prospect.
He has solid arm strength and size, and should be able to hold up in a pocket to make plays, which he showed he could do as a senior.

Cons: Accuracy issues plagued him over the course of his first three seasons with the Commodores, and he had his career high season in his final year when everything was on the line. He needs to show that his progress is on the upward trend, and that he is still learning and developing at the position.
He has not been able to win many big games, but he played at Vanderbilt, a program long in the shadows in the SEC. It has been a place where careers go to die for decades now, and unfortunately, medium success at Vandy is treated with a certain degree of over hype.
Shurmer will need some solid developmental time on the next level, and may be yet another guy who would be wasted as an early round draft pick, but again, in a weak class, he gets significantly bumped up, even if he probably should receive a lower round grade.

Overview: Shurmer is a raw prospect just dying to get some solid coaching on the next level. I believe that if he lands in the right place, with the right staff, he could could be a developmental prospect with a future as a starter in the league. He is a ball of clay just waiting to be molded into something solid, and is smart and talented enough to really excel on the next level over time. Playing at Vanderbilt did not help his career, but it may help a team sneak in and stash him away for the future because of lack of overall exposure. This is a potential diamond in the rough.

Round 3 Grade

5. Ryan Finley, NC State
Finley transferred to NC State out of Boise State, and played solidly for 3 seasons for the Wolfpack. He gave the program a solid consistency at QB for three seasons, and was quietly one of the better QBs in the ACC during that period. He now has to prove that he can be of the same kind of value to an NFL franchise in need of some long term stability at the position, much as he did in Raleigh.

Pros: Finley is a solid player, who does not make many terrible mistakes at QB. He is a solid game manager that can move the football up the field and take charge as a leader. Finley is a smart decision maker with the football, and has shown consistent accuracy with the football over the last three seasons. He is excellent with ball placement, and knows where to put the football to avoid allowing a DB to make a play on the ball. He will not try to play hero ball and force throws which should not be made, which makes him someone you can depend on in game play. He also has solid arm strength, and has really developed a nice touch on his deep ball.

Cons: Finley is not adept at reading progressions in the passing game, and will lock on too often to his first read, and sometimes his second. He doe snot take the time he needs to process the entire field, and will need to get out of that first read mentality that is a plague to young QBs in the college game these days. Teams locked onto that in 2018, and he threw a career high 11 picks, and was barely over a 2:1 ratio for the season.
Finely is not spectacular in any one area. He is a very vanilla QB in terms of production and changing the game. He is not a star on the field, and caps out at solid game manager, much as Andy Dalton has at times. I cannot see a long shelf life for him, and he may max out as a dependable backup option with some short term starter capability. Not horrible, just not great.

Overview: Finely is simply a guy where what you see is what you get. There does not seem to be a ton of long term high ceiling with him, as he has basically shown that he has maxed out on his abilities at this point. Scouts liked him at the senior bowl, but they did not love him. If he catches the right break, and does not have to be a front line star at the position, he could have a solid career, but he is never going to be the guy that blows the doors off the building.

Round 4 Grade

NONE

Round 5 Grade

6. Will Grier, West Virginia
Grier is a QB that many in the media want to push as an early round pick, but the reality is that Grier is a second day pick quality player with a limited skill set, who may be a guy who was fairly solid to great in college, but that was his ceiling.

Pros: Grier is a gamer who can make some solid throws. He finds ways to motivate his team to winning close games, and has solid accuracy, maxing out at a career high 67% in 2018. His two year TD:INT ratio was 3.7:1, which is a highly remarkable rate for any college QB.
He is a work horse QB who puts in the work, and has had solid QBR during his time in college, and averaged over 351 yards passing per game as a senior.
He returned to WVU rather than turning pro after the 2017 season, which showed some commitment at the time.

Cons: His arm strength was a real letdown at the post season workouts, and he showed a bit of a character flaw by ditching out on his teammates for their bowl game to prepare for the draft, which was an essential factor in WVU losing their bowl appearance to Syracuse, only to turn around and appear at the Senior Bowl weeks later.
There are also off-field issues that have to be scrutinized, such as Grier's history with PEDs, which caused a suspension and his eventual transfer from Florida. It has also been stated that Grier and his family members are difficult personalities, and there could be some significant issues with that on the next level.
Grier basically, as I had written above, caps out as a very good college player who may not have much future as a pro, and that is OK, but the worst thing you can do with a guy like this is over hype him and set him up to fail, and there are plenty of people trying to do that now.

Overview: Grier may or may not be drafted on the second day of the draft, and he was really exposed at Senior Bowl workouts. He is simply a system guy who played in a college system at WVU that got the most out of him, but that should really be the end of the road. I don't see that much of a path forward for him outside of an AAF or XFL appearance, because his percentages of success in the NFL just will not be very high. You can get away with lagging arm and personality issues in college, but as an NFL QB, those things are the undoing.

7. Jarrett Stidham, Auburn
Stidham was billed as the guy who would take Auburn to the next level after transferring from Baylor, but what he ended up being was a guy who never lived up to the hype, and seemed lost in Gus Malzahn's system most of the time. It may very well be that he was mismanaged at Auburn from the start, but he never lived up to his top flight billing, and left many Tigers fans disappointed and disjointed with the overall lack of success of Auburn during his time there.

Pros: Stidham is a solidly accurate game manager who completed 66.5% of his passes in 2017. He hardly makes mistakes with the ball in the air, and knows how to throw away from defenders in key situations.
He is a worker who will put in what he needs to, and tends to learn from bad games as well as good. He has solid arm mechanics, and can change where he releases the ball when needed, and knows how to feel and read pressure in the pocket. He has a solid and quick release to move the ball out of his hands under pressure.
He has solid athletic ability, and has solid ability to escape when the pocket shuts down, though he is not a running QB.
He has solid character, and is tough mentally. His football IQ is highly regarded overall, and he fits in the locker room as well as a film room.

Cons: Never tossed more than 20 TD passes in a season with Auburn, and the team around him was not very good. He does not elevate the talent around him like the great ones do, and he just sort of fits in, which is not a good thing for a QB.
Scouting is largely scattered across the board on him, and nobody likes or dislikes the same things about him. He was not very well reviewed at the Senior Bowl, where he did not do anything to elevate himself.
When he was given more freedom in the offense in 2018, he actually regressed in many phases of the game. He is a notoriously slow starter early in the season, and had some games that largely made on wonder where his head was at.

Overview: Stidham has largely not lived up to his billing when he left Baylor, and that has hurt the overall perception of him. Some scouts liked him as a first round pick, and prior to 2018, many people agreed with that assessment. What we know now is that he is not a first round quality talent, and although he did not have top tier offensive talent around him at Auburn, he didn't elevate the talent that he did have around him to any real degree, and that is not a good thing. Stidham is falling like a rock, and does not present as a starting QB in the NFL.

8. Justice Hansen, Arkansas State
Hanson is a QB who put up big numbers in an offensive system that got the best out of his abilities overall. He has solid NFL size for the position, but because of the system he played in, it would seem that very few people know what to do with him moving forward. Personally, if I were taking a shot at any of the mid to late round prospects, it would be on this guy.

Pros: System or not, Hansen has the requisite size that NFL personnel people drool over at 6-4 and 218. He has the frame to add more muscle without bulking out over the next year. He has a live arm and can run well in a spread type system that is all the rage, even in the NFL these days to a degree. He has 83 career TD passes, and that isn't anything to dismiss easily, and finished his career with a 2.7:1 TD to INT ratio as a three year starter.
He showed potential for growth every season, and reduced his INTs as a senior by almost half from his junior season, while attempting 33.4 passes per game. Accuracy is solid with Hansen, as he finished with a 65.4% completion rate as a senior, which was up over 3 points from the season prior.

Cons: Scouts are dismissing his accomplishments in droves, and that is not a good thing for overall perception by NFL execs who will let him slide if their perceptions are what they are.
He did not get a ton of exposure in college, and really got crushed by Alabama when he had a shot to shine.
He did manage to toss 16 picks as a junior, and ball placement is something that he has had to work on over the last three years.
Teams will not invest in him early, as he is a developmental type, and the league does not take a ton of time to develop QBs anymore.

Overview: I am not an NFL personnel paid employee, but if I were, and this prospect were sitting there late, I would advise the pick, because with some developmental time, I could see him as a long term diamond in the rough type who could turn into a surprise player that few would see coming. He is adaptable and coachable, and that should earn him a slot in the league. He likely will not get as much a shot as I'd like to see him have, but Hansen is very much under valued here.

Round 6 Grade

9. Jacob Dolegaga, Central Connecticut State
We finally land on our first real FCS prospect, who scouts really have become taken with in recent workouts. He has amazing size at 6-6, 235, and has a live arm with solid strength behind it. He is one of the classic prospects who falls between the cracks because of school affiliation, but the film shows someone who could really play. He could end up being drafted earlier than this position, but not many people know who he is.
He did not blow the doors off statistically speaking, with just 16 TD passes to 6 INTs last fall with a 61% completion rate, but he was also not surrounded with top flight talent by FCS standards, and could be someone that has not reached his peak yet.
In a weak class, I could see Dolegaga sneaking in as high as a 4th round slot by a team that has put some resources into scouting him.
Watch for him in the draft, because some fan base will not realize what they are getting in this pick.

10. Tyree Jackson, Buffalo
Jackson was eligible for a grad transfer, and had put his name into the transfer portal, but instead of waiting out that process, he decided to bolt for the NFL now, rather than head off to a higher profile school to get some decent exposure. That may have been a fatal mistake. Jackson is a giant of a QB at 6-7 and 245, but has some serious mechanical flaws, and may almost be too big for the spot. His completion ratio is very low for a prospect, and he only completed 55% of his passes as a junior, despite having solid receivers to work with, including Anthony Johnson.
Jackson should have returned to school in 2019 to show that he can work in his fundamental issues, but it's too late now. He may have just overestimated his value.

11. Brett Rypien, Boise State
Rypien was largely mismanaged in 2017, and was placed in a QB rotation, which seemed to dramatically effect his on field demeanor and his confidence. The nephew of Mark Rypien, he has enough talent to show that he can play, but he really came off of that rotation experience a lessor player than he was before it, and there was an edge that was simply missing with him in 2018. He still managed to put up solid numbers, and his accuracy was on point, but he has to get that edge back to his persona, and do so fast. Still, I would take a shot on him, if given the shot.

12. Gardner Minshew, Washington State
Does anyone know quite what to do with the most entertaining player in the nation from the 2018 college football season? Minshew was a machine for Mike Leach last season, and was a ton of fun to watch, but his WSU numbers do not mesh clearly with the numbers he put up over 2 years at East Carolina before he transferred. He was a sub 60% completion rate guy at ECU, but completed 70% of his passes last season at WSU, and so which film was more reliable?
Minshew turned into a true college QB last season, but Mike Leach guys do not have solid track records as pros, as his system does not quite translate to the NFL. Minshew could end up being a very good one year wonder for Washington State, and that may be his ceiling, but again, he's worth a late round look to see what he has left.

Round 7 Grade

13. Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
Murray made a ridiculous selection by ditching guaranteed money in baseball to commit himself to football. He got some very bad career advice along the way from his agent/father Kevin Murray, who hardly had what I would call a stellar QB career.
Murray played everyone in this process, and the Oakland A's found out via Twitter that he was picking football. He has some serious character and immaturity issues, which were on full display as he made a media tour in Atlanta during Super Bowl week.
The facts are simple. He is too small to be an NFL QB, as he looks much smaller than his listed size of 5-10. He has a tiny frame, and his insistence on running will get him killed in the league. He will not be able to sit tight in the pocket and make plays, and teams will have to go away from traditional norms to even give him half a shot at working out.
In short, and I may be wrong, but I see this ending badly for Murray. Someone will take a high round flyer on him, but I would absolutely not draft him with someone else's pick.

14. Clayton Thorson, Northwestern
Thorson's style, for me, does not translate to the NFL. A lot of people have him graded highly on two facts: one is his longevity, as he started 53 games at Northwestern over four seasons, and his size, as he is 6-4. For me, that's where it starts and ends.
Thorson was not the kind of player that elevated talent around him at Northwestern, and rather than do what he could to elevate his teammates abilities, he was given a pass for mediocre numbers instead. I am not a fan of that.
Thorson is a turnover machine, as he has been picked off 27 times over the last two seasons, while only tossing 32 TDs, making his TD:INT ratio almost even, which is horrible. He threw 45 career INTs over four seasons, and that had little to do with the talent around him.
He forces throws more often than not, and his arm strength, overall, does not impress me. He tends to play hero ball, which loses more games than not.
Overall, it's a hard pass for me.

Projected UDFA

Easton Stick, North Dakota State
Trace McSorley, Penn State
Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State
Kyle Kempt, Iowa State
Jake Browning, Washington
Tanner Mangum, BYU
Brad Mayes, Lehigh

Best In Class: Dwyane Haskins, Ohio State
Most Over hyped: Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
Diamond in the Rough: Kyle Shurmer, Vanderbilt; Jacob Dolegaga, Central Connecticut State; Brett Rypien, Boise State; Justice Hansen, Arkansas State

LeBron Camp Supporting Magic's Want To Oust Luke Walton

NBA Notes

Written By: Scott Bilo

There has not been any issue reading the intent on Magic Johnson to make a play to remove Luke Walton. That has been an ongoing battle since day one of Magic's tenure in Laker Land. Now it would appear that LeBron James (shockingly...see cynical) and his camp have lumped themselves onto that wagon as well. LeBron has never been shy about going for blood against his coaches in the past, and while he has sometimes succeeded in removing a coach that he was not fond of, he has also failed at times as well. In this case, it's simply an alliance of resources between Magic and LeBron against the fortress of support for Walton built by the owner of the franchise, Jeannie Buss, who seems to win high stakes battles as a hobby. 

Buss is steadfast in her support of Walton, and has resisted the push by Magic (who also had a history of pushing out coaches as a player) to remove Walton at all costs. This is probably a smart move on the part of Buss, as Walton has kept the Lakers in a playoff push for the 8th spot despite lingering injuries to James and Rajon Rondo. The reality is stark and simple. LeBron is old. He may not see the end of his current contract as a player with the Lakers, and that is the honest truth. His body is showing signs of breaking down, he has a reputation of being toxic to work with to some stars in the league, and his ability to sway stars to the franchise has been, well, less than overwhelming. Of course, the Anthony Davis situation changes some of that if it works in the favor of LA, but short of that, these things ring true. 

Magic also hardly has a stellar resume as an executive in the league who understands anything closely resembling nuance. He has already walked a very fine line regarding tampering, and has fallen over the line on multiple occasions already, and may do so again in the hunt for Davis. If he doesn't fall over that line, LeBron may surely do so all by himself, and likely already has. If LeBron and Magic cannot herd the kind of talent and return to glory that was promised when they were brought on board, then why pay heed to their wants regarding Walton?

This post is hardly a testament to my love for Walton as a coach. It is not. What it is, is an example of how pragmatism should win out in this scenario. Walton has done, in my opinion, a good job of holding the mess that has been the Lakers together. The internal strife is not new here, as Jeannie Buss will tell you. At the end of the day, however, Buss is pragmatic enough to realize that Magic has an iffy track record, and she can win with him in the front office, or without, and this is a battle that neither Magic, nor LeBron should win here. If Buss decides to move on from Walton, it should be for her own reasons, and her own only. If she caves here, she loses more than he coach, she loses her reputation around the league in that she does not have the steel to stand up for what her vision is, and that damages this franchise more than it already has been. The message will be clear that there is no true control of this franchise, and malcontents are running the ship. This is a message that you cannot sell to the fans, to potential free agents, or to execs that you try to recruit to the cause, should Buss tire of Magic and LeBron's shenanigans down the road. 

There is only one clear choice here for Buss...stay the course. 

Anthony Davis Trade Demand Is No Surprise

NBA Notes
Written By: Scott Bilo

There will be those who feign surprise over the news that Anthony Davis has told the New Orleans Pelicans that he is demanding a trade and will not sign an extension with the team. If you are someone who finds yourself shocked by this news (there aren't many), you shouldn't be. This has been coming for some time, especially when Davis attached himself to the agent who represents LeBron James.

James recently had dinner with Davis after a Lakers game against New Orleans, and has all but tampered with Davis for months. Several small market teams had filed tampering charges against the Lakers, who have hardly been able to wipe the froth from their mouths at the idea of  acquiring Davis, who is putting up monster numbers at the apex of his career currently. Davis has also been vocal about the only team that he would sign an extension with, and that would be..wait for it...the Lakers.

Now the Lakers have all of the assets to make a deal with New Orleans for the services of Davis, including team controlled contracts in young players such as Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, and Kantevious Caldwell-Pope. Josh Hart would be another consideration, as is Ivica Zubak. The Lakers also could, and should, dangle a first round pick in any deal. It will likely be a requirement in any such deal that New Orleans would presently make. It's a lot to think about, a package like that. However, it may not exactly be the best package that the Pelicans could attain, and making matters more interesting, they are not exactly showing a sense of urgency on their end to get anything done before the summer.

The reason for the hesitance to make such a move sooner than later would fall in line with the Celtics, who very much want to get involved in any deal. The deal could be made in July, as Khyrie Irving's deal expires. The reason for that wait is because Irving's deal falls under the Rose Rookie Deal rule, and NBA teams can only carry one such deal at a time. Irving's deal expiring opens them to taking on Davis, who also falls under that rule. The Celtics could very well offer up a better overall package than the Lakers can, and may consider throwing in Jason Tatum, as well as others, and they could also throw in more picks, as the Celtics have been hording picks for some time.

There may very well be several suitors in this process, which only helps New Orleans long term in their pursuit of finally building a foundation, albeit one that will not include the center pillar that they had long envisioned. Davis was always to be the centerpiece in their process, but he simply ran out of patience for a long running project that seemingly has no end in sight.

Patience for any athlete only runs so long, and although he envisioned himself in New Orleans long term, his clock is ticking in his prime years to compete and make a run at a title that New Orleans, which has been a long unstable franchise, is not anywhere close to making a run at. Davis was willing to give his all, and has, but at some point, one has to concede defeat and move on, and he has at this point. He realizes that he has to carry this franchise night in and out to get wins, and that energy runs out after a period of time. His has no run out.

Davis will be a key player for any franchise that acquires his services, and they will be acquired sooner or later, with a time stamp of no later than the summer of 2020. I still see his changing of teams happening sometime in the next 4 to 6 months, as New Orleans can hardly afford to allow him to walk away for free.

The only question remaining is whether a franchise will take him on a what some outlets are referring to as a super rental, or if he lands in the one and only place he wants to land in and extend himself to, and that would be LA. LeBron James has been many things, but his ability to sway super stars to LA to join his cause has recently been less than impressive, as was shown last summer when several key free agents decided to resist his so-called sway, and Kevin Durant shows outright repulsion at playing with him. Can LeBron win this battle? That remains to be seen, as in my next post, I will discuss the internal battle in LA between Magic Johnson, LeBron James, and Jeannie Buss over the future of the franchise.