What Is Going To Happen With Anthony Davis?

The biggest news of the day in the world of sports is Anthony Davis’ decision to leave the New Orleans Pelicans.

After six and a half years in Big Easy, Davis wants to get out. This news, which shook the NBA from its foundation was revealed earlier today, by his manager Rich Paul.

“Anthony wants to be traded to a team that allows him a chance to win consistently and compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN. “Anthony wanted to be honest and clear with his intentions and that’s the reason for informing them of this decision now. That’s in the best interests of both Anthony’s and the organization’s future.”

We can’t say that this move wasn’t expected by some part of the public. Davis outgrew New Orleans a long time ago, and the call of the trophies might have been too strong for him to resist.

Agent Rich Paul has notified the New Orleans Pelicans that All-NBA forward Anthony Davis has no intention of signing a contract extension if and when presented and that he has requested a trade, Paul told ESPN on Monday.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019

There is no debate that Eyebrow deserves to compete for a ring. His stats and influence on the court are deserving much more than struggles in the playoff battle each year.

The Pelicans reached the postseason only twice since he landed in Louisiana. First time in 2015 when they got swept by the Warriors in the first round.

Last year they went one step further, losing again to Warriors in the Conference semifinals, after sweeping Portland in the first round.

For a player like Davis, this is just not good enough. He hoped to form a duo with DaMarcus Cousins who came from Sacramento, which would become the new “Twin Towers.” Them two were playing solid until Boogie suffered a season-ending injury, and their cooperation was looking promising, indicating a bright future for the Pelicans.

However, Cousins decided to go after a ring in an already formed team, instead of building one with Davis. Maybe Eyebrow learned something from Boogie’s move, but we still don’t know anything about it.

What we do know is that half of the league will like to trade for this extraordinary center.

The biggest favorites are the Los Angeles Lakers, who were already linked with Davis even before this season. With the arrival of LeBron James, LA became an even more desirable destination.

James was recently in the middle of attention for expressing his desires to see Davis in purple and gold publicly. Some of the franchises wanted him to be fined because of tampering since his gesture was an obvious call for Davis to join him. You can imagine what will happen if Eyebrow ends up in California.

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The only question is what would Pelicans receive in return.

Boston is also interested in Davis. They were one of the potential destinations even before the campaign began. Celtics have a lot of trade potential which means that they can easily get the big man in Massachusetts. Brad Stevens is looking for a final piece in his championship puzzle, and there couldn’t be a better chance than this one to get it.

The next team who has solid potential to land Davis might be Philadelphia, but after the end of this season, if they want to include Jimmy Butler who is obviously not fitting in well among the 76ers. There is also Markelle Fultz who could be a part of the deal, because the former No.1 pick isn’t getting along with the organization either, plus some other players or picks. He and some other players, plus picks could bring AD even this winter.

Don’t be surprised if Pelicans refuse to trade him to the club he wants to go. It is still unknown how the management in New Orleans reacted to this news. And be sure that they won’t be very keen on sending him to LA after the “tampering case.”

Just rewind back to the last summer when most of the experts and the fans believed that Kawhi Leonard’s next stop would be Los Angeles. It turned out that Gregg Popovich intentionally sent the Claw in the totally opposite direction, not wanting to strengthen his conference rival, and partially punishing the player for being disrespectful to the franchise which made him what he is today.

We have a new saga in ahead of us, that is what it looks like.