The Boston Celtics will be forced to make promises to the New Orleans Pelicans soon if they hope for them to patiently wait until the summer to discuss a trade for their talisman player Anthony Davis. Jayson Tatum, rests as the singlemost wanted asset the Pelicans would want, and he'd likely have to be dangled by the Celtics now in order to prevent a Los Angeles Lakers coup before the Feb. 7 trade deadline expires, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.
The Celtics secretly don't want to part ways with Tatum, and would rather offer any other player not named the former and Kyrie Irving to trade for The Brow.
“The most pressing question for Boston is whether they could acquire Davis without including Jayson Tatum in the deal,” Wojnarowski and Lowe wrote on Thursday. “If the Celtics get the chance, Boston will be able to offer any or all of: Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier (though Rozier would have to agree to a sign-and-trade, raising thorny cap complications), their own first-round picks, Sacramento's first-round pick, a Memphis future first-round pick (top-eight protected this season, top-six protected in 2020, and unprotected in 2021) and a lottery-protected LA Clippers first-rounder that converts to a 2022 second-round pick if the Clippers miss the playoffs both this season and next.”
This could be a risky game, and one president Danny Ainge has been known for — to promise the world, only to sneak up on teams and do a last-minute audible and get the deal done either way.
Ainge has been salivating over Davis for the better part of two seasons now, and is hoping to acquire him at all costs, as it could hold the key of making Kyrie Irving re-sign with the team and potentially form a Big Three if he could manufacture a trade without Tatum in it.
Follow Us
Subscribe