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.