The New Orleans Pelicans turned down a massive offer from the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis on Tuesday, with the Lakers' offer reportedly featuring Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Ivica Zubac, Josh Hart, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, plus draft picks.

So, basically, the Lakers were willing to trade their entire team outside of LeBron James, and the Pelicans said no.

It's blatantly obvious what New Orleans is doing here.

Sure, the trade deadline is Thursday, but with Davis under Pelicans team control through the end of next season, New Orleans absolutely does not have to trade Davis now and can merely wait until the summer.

That would bring the Boston Celtics into the mix.

The Celtics cannot trade for Davis before the deadline due to the “Rose rule” concerning Kyrie Irving (unless Irving is included in the deal, which isn't happening), but they can swing a deal for him this offseason.

The Pelicans know this, which is why they would clearly prefer to what for Boston before making a trade with Los Angeles.

New Orleans has its sights set on C's young star Jayson Tatum, who is viewed by most as a better prospect than anything the Lakers are offering, and rightfully so.

However, while Danny Ainge may be telling the Pelicans right now that he is willing to include Tatum in an offer for Davis, we don't know if that will be the case come summertime.

Now, here's a bit of a disclaimer before I delve into this: I absolutely believe that Ainge will offer Tatum this summer if Davis is still available. Ainge has been after The Brow for years, and I highly doubt he will let such an opportunity slip out of his grasp.

That being said, there are some other factors at play here. For example, let's say the Celtics go on to win the NBA Finals this season.

The Golden State Warriors are definitely the favorites, but Boston is probably the one team that has a shot of knocking them off in a seven-game series. So, let's say it happens. The C's beat the Warriors, Tatum has a monster playoff run, and the Celtics raise another banner.

At that point, would Boston still be willing to include Tatum in a deal for Davis?

You are always looking to make your team better no matter what, so even if the Celtics do win a title in June, Ainge will still likely talk with the Pelicans about Davis, but Ainge would also be more likely to walk away from the table if he feels New Orleans is asking for too much.

Tatum is not the only asset the Celtics have. They also have Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams and a host of draft picks, a rich combination of pieces that other teams simply don't possess.

Based on that, Boston may try to pull Tatum out of the framework and center a deal around Brown, which is certainly a massive step down. As good as Brown is, he is not Jayson Tatum.

That would be a major kick in the teeth for the Pelicans, who may then have to go crawling back to the Lakers for their godfather offer. But, why would Los Angeles keep that same offer on the table if Boston reneges on including Tatum?

Tatum is what is making the C's hard to beat at the moment in the race for Davis. Pull Tatum out of that offer, and suddenly, it becomes much more ordinary.

Would the Lakers then decide to play hardball with the Pels and maybe pull Ingram out of negotiations? It's possible.

Again, we have to keep in mind that we are discussing Anthony Davis here, a 25-year-old stud. So, teams like the Celtics and the Lakers may not want to risk losing out on him, so they might avoid getting cute (especially the Lakers, who are definitely the more desperate team).

But, there is no doubt that the possibility is there that Ainge, a sharp executive known for getting the better of other general managers (which is how he managed to get Tatum and the Sacramento Kings pick from the Philadelphia 76ers in the process in the first place), attempts to work Dell Demps come this summer.

New Orleans must be confident that Ainge will remain true to his word, which is why the Pelicans are rebuffing the Lakers right now.

Still, a lot can change between now and July. Seriously: what if the Celtics do win the title? How do you possibly break up that core? At that point, the chances of Kyrie Irving leaving surely plummet, which would put a lot less pressure on Boston to make a deal for another star.

The fact that Boston is 24-9 over its last 33 games with the top net rating in the league over that span is evidence that this is a team that probably will go on a deep playoff run and seems to be on a collision course to meet the Warriors in the finals.

And if the Celtics beat the Warriors?

Well, then the Pelicans might have a big problem.

Let's see what happens.