New Orleans Pelicans star big man Anthony Davis officially demanded a trade earlier on Monday. It’s a situation that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.
However, the backdrop here could lead to some issues between the NBA and teams looking to potentially trade Davis.
In releasing a statement concluding that Davis had in fact requested a trade, the Pelicans indicated they wanted the NBA to “strictly enforce tampering” and “will trade Davis on their own terms.”
Things are now hitting the proverbial wall. The Association announced later on Thursday that it is investigating the entire Davis situation — focusing on his camp’s “on the record” request for a trade.
NBA spokesman: “We commenced an investigation this morning upon reading the reports regarding Anthony Davis. That process is ongoing.” One reason: an on-the-record request for a trade by an agent or a player. Davis could be fined.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019
The investigation itself could also include tampering allegations against other teams. That’s primarily true when we look at the Los Angeles Lakers and president Magic Johnson.
There’s so much to this story. Jimmy Butler officially requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this season. Why was no investigation conducted at that point? NBA players requesting trades is nothing new.
As it relates to the Lakers and their potential tampering with Davis, we’ve already seen this story play out under Magic.
Yeah, this is about to get ugly.