The entire basketball world is talking about New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis and whether or not he will be moved before the trade deadline on Feb. 7. The Los Angeles Lakers will pull out all the stops in order to make a deal happen as their top competition, the Boston Celtics, can’t acquire him until the summer.
The Celtics have long been interested in trading Davis and have collected a number of draft picks as well as plenty of young talent that would likely trump the Lakers’ best offer. However, due to a rule in the CBA, they can’t acquire Davis until Kyrie Irving is officially a free agent.
Apparently the interest isn’t mutual between the two sides, however. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Davis isn’t high on the Celtics because of Irving’s future with the franchise:
Davis’ camp has let it be known he doesn’t consider the Celtics a long-term home because he doesn’t believe Irving plans to re-sign with the Celtics next season, sources said.
The worry of Irving leaving Boston in the offseason is a huge deal. The Celtics wouldn’t trade for Davis without the belief that Irving would return, giving them their own super team to compete with the Golden State Warriors.
Davis’ agent Rich Paul has said that Davis wants to go to a team where he will compete for championships, and the Celtics would likely not be on that level if Irving were to leave. Additionally, it’s believed Davis views all teams other than the Lakers as one-year stops until free agency.
The Lakers, of course, will be trying to make that point insignificant as they plan on acquiring Davis before Boston ever has a chance to do so. But the latest indications are they have yet to submit offers that are close to what the Pelicans are seeking.
Meanwhile, Davis’ father made it clear he doesn’t believe his son should want to join the Celtics because of their trade of Isaiah Thomas.
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