As the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline closes in, the race to make a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans for Anthony Davis is in full swing. Three teams could surprise the league and get New Orleans to pull the trigger.
The NBA was set ablaze Monday morning following the news from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Anthony Davis was seeking a trade and had no interest continuing his career as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. Although the potential of this seemed glossed in some inevitable and dominated headlines most of the season leading up to then, the report still rocked the league — especially the Pelicans themselves.
They released a statement on Monday that they are in no hurry to get a deal done and will grant Davis’ request on their own timeline. The Los Angeles Lakers, A.D.’s expected ideal destination, have been the most aggressive in aiming to get a deal done prior to the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline on Feb. 7. With young players like Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball all assumingly up for grabs, the Lakers have garnered plenty of attention as a team that could make a hasty deal with New Orleans.
Currently, the Pelicans have desire to wait until the offseason to settle everything out, unless they receive an offer that blows them away. Per Wojnarowski and ESPN‘s Zach Lowe, general manager Dell Demps isn’t even answering the Lakers’ calls right now and is prepared to play the long game with the Brow’s future.
If the Pelicans wait until the summer, they will have the opportunity to gauge the market more accurately. An offseason deal would allow New Orleans to see how the draft lottery plays out, and let the Boston Celtics make their best pitch for a trade, since they cannot make a move for AD without including Kyrie Irving until July, due to the Rose Rule.
With just over a week left until the trade deadline, everyone in the league is on the edge of their seats to see if anyone can pull off a trade before then that would most likely shift the momentum of the NBA immediately. As New Orleans seeks to gain as much as it can in a return for a potential top-five player in the league, there are three trades outside the Lakers they should pursue.