On Monday it was reported that All-Star big man Anthony Davis had requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, with the Los Angeles Lakers serving as a possible destination.
Based on a statement made by Davis’ current team, however, a trade to Los Angeles seems quite unlikely.
New Orleans statement to ESPN on Anthony Davis: "This past weekend, Anthony Davis' representatives informed us that Anthony does not wish to sign a contract extension with our team and subsequently has requested a trade. Although we are disappointed in this decision…"
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019
…"our organization's top priority is to bring an NBA championship to our city and fans build our team for long-term success. Relative to specific talks of a trade, we will do this on our timeline. One that make sense for our team and it will not be dictated by those outside…" https://t.co/InAp332vtV
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019
Pels statement continued: "…of our organization. We have also requested the League to strictly enforce the tampering rules associated with this transaction." https://t.co/kPI6HOkZrF
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019
The reason why the Pelicans decrying tampering in the NBA has implications for the Lakers is because of the recent accusations of tampering for both team president Magic Johnson and star small forward LeBron James.
For Johnson, comments in the past have earned fines. He was fined back in August 2017 for tampering with Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George. He was also fined in February 2018 for comments regarding Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
As for James, some questioned whether he was actively trying to recruit Davis to Los Angeles earlier this season when he openly admitted that he would love to play with the versatile big man.
“That would be amazing,” James told ESPN in December, referring to the Lakers landing Davis through a trade. “That would be amazing, like, duh. That would be incredible.”
With all this information, it seems quite clear that the Pelicans are accusing the Lakers of trying to influence Davis’ decision.
In the end, it seems likely that the Pelicans will honor Davis’ request to be traded, either before the Feb. 7 NBA trade deadline or following the 2018-19 season.
