One of the biggest stories heading into the offseason continues to be the saga involving New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis. The trade deadline was full of drama after the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly offered up all of their young talent in hopes of landing the star, but New Orleans ultimately opted on keeping him for the rest of the year.
Many in the Lakers’ camp believe the Pelicans never negotiated in good faith, having no intentions of ever dealing Davis to Los Angeles while hurting their. Considering what has happened to L.A. since it would seem as if their mission was accomplished, but a Davis deal will still have to take place eventually and in all likelihood it will be this summer.
That trade involving the Lakers seems unlikely, however, as according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN, the Pelicans have no intentions of sending Davis to L.A.:
“I’ve been told there’s no way Anthony Davis is coming here through the Pelicans. … They’re just not going to do it.”
The Lakers’ history of acquiring stars, as well as winning championships, undoubtedly has many teams preferring not to deal with them. LeBron openly speaking about Davis surely did the team no favors in this regard either.
As was the case with Paul George, a team tends to prefer not sending a disgruntled player to the team they prefer, especially when that team is the Lakers.
Of course, if the Lakers give the Pelicans the best trade package for Davis this summer, it would be foolish not to engage with them. Regardless, if this truly is the case, the Lakers may be forced to wait until Davis hits free agency in 2020 for any chance at landing him.
