If Anthony Davis remains on the New Orleans Pelicans after the Feb. 7 trade deadline, the belief around the league is that the Boston Celtics would become the overwhelming favorites to land AD in the offseason, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.

The Celtics could trade for Anthony Davis now, but they would have to part ways with point guard Kyrie Irving because of the “Rose rule.” Boston is believed to have the type of assets the Pelicans are looking for in return for Davis, who is a top-five player in the NBA and a transcendent talent.

But if Davis remains in New Orleans after the deadline, league sources say, there is a growing belief around the league that the Celtics would become the favorites to land the superstar forward.

The Celtics probably have the NBA’s shiniest collection of talented young players and future first-round picks, so it appears to be in New Orleans’s best interest to wait until June to hear Boston’s best offer

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This is the moment Danny Ainge has been waiting for. He's been stockpiling all of these assets so he can go after a player like Anthony Davis.

Now, the Celtics are just hoping that the Pelicans wait until the offseason to move Davis so they can have both Kyrie Irving and AD on the roster.