The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to aggressively pursue a trade for Anthony Davis this coming offseason after failing to do so ahead of the trade deadline.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, it does not sound like the Pelicans have any intention of cooperating in said pursuit, according to The Undefeated’s Marcus J. Spears.
“I have been told that there’s no way Anthony Davis is coming here, through the Pelicans,” Spears said Wednesday from L.A. on ESPN’s “The Jump,” via Bleacher Report. “They’re just not going to do it.”
Despite the Lakers and Pelicans reportedly engaging in deep discussions regarding a Davis trade ahead of the deadline, nothing obviously came to fruition.
It made sense for the Pelicans to hold on to their superstar at that point, as more teams are expected to enter the Davis sweepstakes this coming offseason. By waiting until after the season, the Pelicans rightfully expect a feeding frenzy to ensue, which will only increase what the team receives back for Davis in what assuredly will be a blockbuster deal.
As far as the Lakers are concerned, however, it should come hardly as a surprise that the Pelicans are reluctant to work with them on a Davis trade. There was no shortage of animosity and controversy amid the teams’ dealings, highlighted by the Pelicans accusing the Lakers of leaking trade details amid deliberations.
Further, the Pelicans, not to mention other NBA teams, were said to be quite upset with LeBron James publicly recruiting Davis to the Lakers ahead of the Pelicans star making his trade demand official.
Then, speculation arose that the Pelicans used the Davis trade discussions to “sabotage” the Lakers over what the team saw as tampering.
By no means should Davis joining the Lakers be viewed as a complete impossibility. At the very least, the Pelicans clearly will play hardball with the Lakers, if the teams intends to engage in trade talks with L.A. at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment