New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis requested a trade from the front office this past Friday, telling the team he no longer was willing to re-sign with them in the offseason.
Yet according to head coach Alvin Gentry, who spoke to Davis since, the five-time All-Star is planning to play out the rest of the season with the Pelicans, according to Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate.
This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given that the Pelicans are still unlikely to find a trade suitor with only 11 days left before the trade deadline.
Davis will likely have to stay put for the remainder of the season until New Orleans can get the Boston Celtics back in the mix, the team that can offer the most for his services with plenty of ready-made assets and a war chest of draft picks available for various packages.
Davis' agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports made the news public by voicing it to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski this morning, putting the rest of the league in high alert.
Davis noted he chose to tell the Pelicans at this point to allow them to make the moves necessary to make the best decision for the franchise. Yet less than two weeks is hardly the best time to tell a team with a looming Feb. 7 trade deadline.
If the Pelicans are indeed in no rush to trade Davis, they will wait until the Celtics are able to come knocking with a beefy offer on July 1, time when they will be free of the “Rose Rule” that currently keeps them unable to trade for Davis with Kyrie Irving still on the roster.
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