Steve Kerr Rips Anthony Davis for Holding Pelicans Hostage Last Season

By Jonathan Sherman
Updated: July 24, 2019

Anthony Davis was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this summer, but he had actually requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans quite early on in the 2017-18 NBA season.

While stars forcing their ways out of situations they no longer want to be a part of has become commonplace, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr took it upon himself to specifically criticize Davis for doing that very thing.

In an interview with the Warriors Insider Podcast, Kerr singled out the Davis situation as a problem the league is currently facing.

“I’m talking more about the Anthony Davis situation,” he said. “Where a guy is perfectly healthy and has a couple years left on his deal and says, ‘I want to leave.’ That’s a real problem that the league has to address and that the players have to be careful with.

“When you sign on that dotted line, you owe your effort and your play to that team, to that city, to the fans. And then [once the contract runs out] it’s completely your right to leave as a free agent. But if you sign the contract, then you should be bound to that contract.

“If you come to an agreement with the team that, hey, it’s probably best for us to part ways, that’s one thing. But the Davis stuff was really kind of groundbreaking — and hopefully not a trend, because it’s bad for the league.”

Kerr can certainly speak his piece, but it’s a little strange to single out Davis specifically. Over the last few seasons, there have been loads of instances in which star players effectively forced their way out of bad situations. For Davis, he was simply doing what he felt was best for his career.

As for the Pelicans, they could have avoided the entire calamity by simply agreeing to a trade prior to the trade deadline last February.

Ultimately, what matters most is that Davis is currently where he wanted to be: in the Purple and Gold.

Now, it’s time for Kerr to stop worrying about how Davis got there, and start worrying about how he’s going to stop the big man from dominating when the Warriors and Lakers meet this season.