The Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans can’t make a trade for Anthony Davis before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean they can’t talk.
NBA rules prohibit the Celtics from making a deal for Davis this season (at least as long as Kyrie Irving’s contract is on the books), meaning Boston will have to wait out the deadline for its chance to acquire the unhappy franchise player from the Pelicans.
Other teams are circling ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline, and Davis has his reported preferences that ultimately don’t include Boston. But the Celtics remain engaged in conversations with the Pelicans, the Boston Sports Journal reported Thursday morning.
According to the report, players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart have all been discussed, but a source told BSJÂ the Celtics don’t plan on making any promises to New Orleans in order to keep them from moving Davis before the deadline.
There’s some risk to that, but the Celtics have some leverage of their own. They’re widely considered the team with the most (and best) assets to offer in a potential trade for Davis, so it makes sense for New Orleans to wait until the offseason to deal the All-Star big man.
