The Los Angeles Lakers have been aggressive in pursuing a trade for Anthony Davis, but Chris Broussard said Wednesday on FS1’s “Undisputed” there’s “no way” the New Orleans Pelicans superstar will land in LA before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
According to Broussard, the Pelicans are not mulling over the Lakers’ offers to date and New Orleans general manager Dell Demps has been advised against trading Davis to Los Angeles ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
Why? Well, Davis is under contract through next season. The Pelicans don’t need to rush into anything and actually might benefit from waiting until this summer to trade the 25-year-old big man, as New Orleans could receive better offers from the Boston Celtics and/or New York Knicks, among others.
"They are not giving Anthony Davis to the Lakers by tomorrow. First, this doesn't make basketball sense. Why would I do this trade before Boston can get involved? New York? … I know New Orleans likes Jayson Tatum better than anyone on the Lakers roster." — @Chris_Broussard pic.twitter.com/UACfIWwM0R
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) February 6, 2019
The Celtics have been linked to Davis for a while but can’t trade for him until the offseason thanks to the NBA’s “Rose Rule,” which restricts teams from trading for two players signed to designated rookie extensions. Kyrie Irving already is signed to such a deal, meaning the Celtics can’t trade for Davis until Irving opts out and signs a new contract or leaves in free agency this offseason.
Technically, the Celtics could trade for Davis before Thursday’s deadline if they traded away Irving prior to landing the Pelicans star. That obviously would be counterproductive, though, as Boston’s end game seems to revolve around re-signing Irving, trading for Davis and ultimately convincing the latter to stay beyond the 2019-20 season.
