Anthony Davis rubbed a lot of people the wrong way when he requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this season, and he annoyed even more people when he essentially forced his way to the Los Angeles Lakers.

But on Saturday, as Davis was being introduced as a new member of the Lakers, he said he was merely trying to do the best thing for himself and for his career:

Davis will team up with LeBron James and a bunch of veterans like Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo, not to mention the young Kyle Kuzma, whom the Lakers kept out of trade talks for Davis.

The 26-year-old spent the first seven years of his career in New Orleans, but made just a couple of playoff appearances and advanced past the first round only once.

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After the Pelicans disappointed in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign, Davis had had enough and asked the team for a trade. The Lakers originally tried to acquire Davis at the February deadline, but were rebuffed.

New Orleans then made a change at chief decision-maker, firing Dell Demps and replacing him with former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin.

The Pelicans and Lakers then revisited trade talks last month, and Los Angeles ultimately ended up sending Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and three first-round picks to New Orleans in exchange for the superstar big man.

Anthony Davis has made six straight All-Star appearances and owns career averages of 23.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.