The NBA has refuted a report from ESPN which claimed they told the New Orleans Pelicans the franchise would be fined $100,000 per game if they didn't play superstar Anthony Davis for the rest of the season.
Davis has requested a trade from New Orleans, so many thought the Pelicans would sit him for the rest of the season to avoid an injury.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass released a statement to Marc Stein of the New York Times on Monday regarding the matter:
NBA spokesman Mike Bass tells @NYTSports on the Pelicans and Anthony Davis: “The NBA did not tell New Orleans that it would be fined $100,000 per game if Anthony Davis were held out for the remainder of season … (QUOTE CONTINUED IN NEXT TWEET)
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 11, 2019
More from the NBA’s Mike Bass on New Orleans and Anthony Davis: ”The Pelicans were advised that the team had not identified a proper basis for making that determination at this time and league rules governing competitive integrity therefore require that he be permitted to play.”
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 11, 2019
This situation keeps getting dicier by the day. It's clear to everyone watching this unfold that the best course of action is for the Pelicans to sit Davis for the remainder of the season. Even though they are not elite level players like Davis, Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith were exiled from the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively. The Cavs aren't even buying out Smith's contract for the season, which means he's not going to play again this year. The NBA, however, hasn't addressed that situation at all.
Because the Pelicans are going to trade Davis in the summer, the prevailing thought was sitting The Brow for the remaining schedule of the regular season would be beneficial for both parties. Unless Davis is begging the Pelicans to play, which is highly doubtful, New Orleans should be allowed to sit him.
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