The New Orleans Pelicans are bound to exercise the utmost patience when looking for a package for Anthony Davis, and given that the Boston Celtics, the team with the juiciest package in return for their star forward, currently out of the sweepstakes, it will take an “overwhelming package” to get them to trade their talisman before the Feb. 7 trade deadline, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Los Angeles Lakers will make a push for Davis, but it's unlikely their package of young players (Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac) will be considered beefy enough to make sense for Davis. Seven of the Lakers players are currently in rookie-scale contracts, which only makes it tougher to trade for the $81 million remaining in his contract.
To do so, the Lakers would have to unload a player like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who has the next-highest average salary after LeBron James.
While some cap gymnastics could be exercised to make the deal work, the mere lack of talent makes this deal plainly fruitless for a team like New Orleans who has developed Davis into a five-time All-Star.
Keeping Davis past the trade deadline would allow the Pelicans to get the Celtics on the poker table and work out permutations with better talent and regalia of draft picks that president Danny Ainge has stashed away for a moment of this magnitude.
The Celtics will surely raise the ante and ensure competing teams do so as well if they hope to snag such an incredible talent at only 25 years of age.
Follow Us
Subscribe