Anthony Davis only has a few days before the Feb. 7 trade deadline in order to get his wish of being traded. His representatives apparently have alerted the New Orleans Pelicans about his preferred destinations in hopes of making something happen.
According to ESPN and the Los Angeles Times, Davis has told the Pelicans that he prefers trades to the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, New York Knicks or Milwaukee Bucks. Those are teams he would be willing to sign a long term contract with. Having that knowledge could inspire one of the teams to offer more than a team with less certainty about being able to retain Davis beyond 2020.
Just a week ago, Davis’ agent Rich Paul went public with news that his client had informed New Orleans he would not sign with them long term. Davis is still under contract through next season, so despite not wanting to lose the star for nothing, the Pelicans are not under immense pressure to trade him.
Pelicans GM Dell Demps seemingly put the squeeze on the Lakers — the team where Davis wants to go the most — by leaking details of their trade offer to the media Friday night, saying he didn’t consider them serious. The Lakers reportedly have stepped up in the days since and are offering much larger packages of players, draft picks, and salary cap relief for New Orleans.
Teams around the league reportedly want the Pelicans to wait until the summer to trade Davis, feeling they will receive better offers. But after missing out on Paul George and Kawhi Leonard — both of whom wanted to sign with the Lakers as free agents but ended up being traded elsewhere — the Lakers may be willing to give up what’s needed to land Davis.
