After Anthony Davis requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, were doing everything in their power to acquire the superstar power forward from New Orleans before the February trade deadline passed.
The Pelicans, however, reportedly didn't like the way the Lakers handled their private discussions regarding a Davis trade.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, New Orleans became frustrated with how public the Lakers-initiated discussions about Davis became.
Article Continues BelowThroughout the two-week saga stemming from Davis’ trade request, the Pelicans became frustrated about how public the Lakers-initiated discussions had become.
“We get off the phone with (the Lakers), and a minute later, offers are out there,” one Pelicans source with direct knowledge of discussions told The Athletic.
The Lakers weren't able to acquire Davis and will have to try again in the offseason.
The prevailing thought in league circles is that the Pelicans don't want to trade AD to Los Angeles and would prefer to ship him to the Eastern Conference.
Davis can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2020 and sign with the Lakers then if he wants to, although the star big man said at All-Star weekend in Charlotte that Los Angeles isn't the only team he would be content to play for.