BOSTON — So long as Anthony Davis keeps visiting Boston in a New Orleans Pelicans jersey, murmurs will persist about the likelihood of him one day joining the Celtics.
That’s got to be distracting, right? According to Alvin Gentry, no, actually.
Davis has a player option in his contract after next season and is eligible to sign a supermax deal following this campaign. If the star big man elects not to sign that deal, one would have to think the next step would be New Orleans moving him so he doesn’t walk for nothing in free agency.
Ahead of the Celtics’ tilt with the Pelicans at TD Garden on Monday, Gentry was asked if the incessant churning of the rumor mill gets distracting at all.
“It doesn’t distract us at all,” the Pelicans head coach responded. “You’d have to ask him. But right now he’s under contract and playing for us, and that’s all we worry about. We try to worry about winning games and that’s it. That’s going to take care of itself when the time comes. So it’s not a distraction at all.”
Davis often has been linked to the Celtics in part because of president of basketball operations Danny Ainge’s willingness to make big deals, and the fact he has the assets to execute such a move. In order for that to happen, however, Kyrie Irving would have to be involved in the deal because of the “Rose Rule.” Considering Irving has given a verbal commitment to stay with Boston, it seems unlikely he would get moved.
Still, Gentry clearly has gotten used to fielding questions about his best player getting sent elsewhere.
