The longtime New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis informed the team he was intending not to sign an extension and requested to be traded. Although he requested to be traded, he’s still interested in sticking it out the rest of the season with the Pelicans.
Davis is currently sitting out for the next week or two with a sprained index finger on his shooting hand. Davis is having a career season so far averaging about 30 points per game, 13 rebounds and 5 assists a game.
The Pelicans season hasn’t been one to remember as they sit in 13th place. Davis has stayed with the team the past 2-3 seasons in hopes that the team can help lure big-name free agents to help him win New Orleans a championship or at least get to the Western Conference Championship.
Despite his loyalty, the team has not managed to get big-name talents to help him. Davis and point guard Jrue Holiday, can’t carry the team alone.
The Lakers are favored to land “The Brow” but they will need to clear the bench to trade for Davis. But what team doesn’t? Two years ago, Davis said in an interview, he wants to be apart of a team that has a good front office, a great coach, and team he can go all the way with.
Among those teams, he felt had all those characteristics, were the Lakers, Golden State, Houston, and the Spurs. With big money spent on the Warriors and Rockets, the Spurs and Lakers are the teams that can work their magic and fix the salaries and offer players in trade that won’t hurt either team.
The NBA has released a memo on their “tampering rule” because of the big news, reminding teams not to try and recruit Davis to their team under the table. Lakers were previously under fire two seasons ago for tampering with Paul George in a quest to get him to the Lakers. George ultimately signed with OKC and resigned with them again this past summer. Lakers were fined and relinquished a draft pick.
In another hot summer of free agents including Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard, Davis will have his name in the conversation and all eyes will be on Davis to see where he lands and how it’ll affect other teams.