The Pelicans’ front-office reportedly wants to hang on to Anthony Davis past Thursday’s trade deadline.
The Los Angeles Lakers are said to be pessimistic about New Orleans’ willingness to deal AD.
Lakers president Magic Johnson has New Orleans engaged in talks on Anthony Davis, but must still overcome significant support within the Pelicans organization to let Thursday's trade deadline expire with the All-Star remaining on the roster. Story on ESPN: https://t.co/Vts93I6des
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2019
Not surprisingly, the Boston Celtics are pushing the Pels to wait until the summer for a Davis swap.
Per ESPN:
The Pelicans haven’t countered the Lakers’ offers but do have expectations that [Magic] Johnson will overwhelm them with young players and a historic haul of draft picks. To New Orleans, that means four first-round and second-round picks as part of a trade package, league sources told ESPN. The Pelicans want to be compensated — perhaps even overcompensated — for bypassing the chance to open up the process in the offseason and delivering Davis to the Lakers now.
The Lakers are currently offering the Pelicans a package that includes forwards Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, guard Lonzo Ball and two first-round picks, as well as a willingness to absorb the remaining $12.7 million on Solomon Hill’s contract in the 2019-20 season, league sources told ESPN.
Nevertheless, the Celtics remain determined to acquire Davis after the season, and Celtics GM Danny Ainge has directly urged [Dell] Demps to wait until the offseason, when the Celtics have promised to be aggressive with their wealth of draft and player assets to try to acquire Davis, league sources said. Ainge is eager to trade for Davis and pair him with [Kyrie] Irving, sources said.
Boston’s plan to pursue Davis remains unaffected by whatever decision Irving might make in summer free agency, league sources said. Irving, 26, previously said he planned to re-sign with the Celtics in the summer but has recently wavered in public on that promise. Although the Celtics can’t be sure about Irving’s forthcoming decision in July, they remain confident that he’ll choose to stay in Boston, sources said. The Celtics also believe that a deal for Davis will help solidify his confidence in re-signing with the organization, sources said.
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