Show us an NBA superstar without a title, and we’ll show you a contender relentlessly trying to acquire him.
Anthony Davis certainly fits that mold, as the New Orleans Pelicans’ franchise forward has been the apple of other teams’ eyes for several seasons. The Boston Celtics are among those teams, and they apparently haven’t given up hope on Davis: The C’s have “remained vigilant on the possibility” of acquiring the 24-year-old in a trade, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday.
Before Celtics fans get too excited: Davis is under contract until 2021, and Wojnarowski reported the Pelicans have “no intention” of trading Davis in that timespan, “no matter the return.”
But Davis also made some interesting remarks to Wojnarowski about his desire to win. Before New Orleans acquired DeMarcus Cousins last February, Davis kept hearing rumblings about Boston’s desire to trade for him and confronted Pelicans general manager Dell Demps about it.
“(Demps) told me that (Boston) was calling, but nothing was going to happen,” Davis said, via ESPN.com. “At the same time, though, you see how organizations treat players. Isaiah Thomas. DeMarcus (Cousins) told me that the (Sacramento Kings) told him that he wasn’t going to get traded, but they traded him. Isaiah took his team to the Eastern Conference finals, and they traded him.
“It makes you wonder: Does this organization really have my back? I’ve been loyal to this organization. I love it here. I love this team. I think we’re moving in the right direction. DeMarcus, (Rajon) Rondo, some other players that are helping us, but people get judged on winning. And I want to win.
“It’s not about the money. It’s not about having fans. The most important thing to me: winning. That’s what I want to do. And I want to do it here.”
Boston could offer a great chance for Davis to quench his thirst for success — good luck stopping a Kyrie Irving-Davis duo — and the Celtics might just have the assets to pull off a deal. It sounds like Davis’ ideal scenario, though, is to stay in New Orleans and win there, meaning Boston’s grand visions likely are on hold … for now.
