Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge won’t go down without a fight when it comes to going after New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis.
While the Pelicans and GM Dell Demps have made it clear on multiple occasions that they don’t plan to trade one of the game’s best big men, it’s not stopping other teams from dreaming of the day he suits up in their city.
That obviously includes Ainge and the Celtics.
“Boston has been hawking Anthony Davis for years,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said recently. “They always hoped that it would be, whether it’s the end of this season or the beginning of next before the trade deadline, that they would gather up all those assets, all those picks Danny Ainge has, young players, and they’d be the team to be able to get Anthony Davis.”
In addition to boasting three first-round picks in what promises to be a strong 2019 NBA Draft, the Celtics have a ton of young assets to offer New Orleans in a hypothetical deal. That includes potential centerpieces Jaylen Brown and/or Jayson Tatum.
Even then, the Celtics are going to have competition for Davis’ services should the Pelicans ultimately put him on the trade block.
“But now you have L.A. (Lakers) and if they get shut out in free agency, they’re going to have to take all their young players to try to use them to get Anthony Davis,” Wojnarowski continued.
While the Lakers don’t have anywhere near the draft pick capital as Boston, they can potentially match up with young players. That includes Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart.
Sure New Orleans has pushed back against the idea of dealing Davis. He’s also seemingly happy in the Bayou. The issue here is that the 24-year-old big man has a player option he’ll certainly exercise following next season. If the Pelicans are not legit title contenders by then, they might have to bite the bullet and trade the face of their franchise.
If so, the Lakers and Celtics will definitely come calling.