New Orleans Pelicans: Pros and cons of trading Anthony Davis
By James Grieco
Pro: AD’s reputation is shot
Suffice to say, Anthony Davis is not a popular man among the folks in Louisiana, let alone most NBA fans after he and his agent Rich Paul botched his trade request in February. In most cities (other than places as angry as Philadelphia, that is), once a fanbase boos its own guy, there is no turning back.
Anthony Davis booed on his first touch and cheered for his first score in New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/QJwgrWpMZT
— ESPN (@espn) February 9, 2019
Sideline reporter Jennifer Hale went on FS1’s Undisputed Wednesday two months after the Pelicans’ season ended to discuss the whole blunder of AD wearing a “That’s all, folks” T-shirt to the last game of the season. Davis is being talked about, still, as if aliens snatched his soul Space Jam-style after joining Klutch Sports.
Many Pelicans fans have prepared themselves for an inevitable AD trade since the minute the request was made. No matter, lottery luck heals all wounds. Upon winning the rights to draft Zion, the Pelicans box office’s work got a whole lot easier:
The Pelicans, I'm told, have sold in the neighborhood of 3,000 season-ticket packages for next season in the wake of winning last night's NBA lottery and the chance to draft Zion Williamson No. 1 overall
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 15, 2019
That massive haul is nearly triple the amount of tickets the team sold in 2012 after getting the No. 1 overall pick — which everyone knew would be Kentucky center Anthony Davis.
The Pelicans are ready to be Zion’s team now, and having to reconcile with a superstar who torpedoed last season and made it clear he wants out would only get in the way of the franchise’s marketing and identity.