Why the Boston Celtics aren’t out of the Anthony Davis race
By Ryan Eggers
After a day full of more Anthony Davis news, it seems more likely than ever that Magic Johnson and LeBron James will land their second superstar at the deadline. Don’t count out the Boston Celtics just yet, though.
So, today was an interesting day for NBA Twitter. With an array of Woj bombs concerning Anthony Davis’ future, it seems as though all signs point to his imminent departure for the Lakers by the trade deadline. The Boston Celtics can’t even make an offer due to the Rose rule, which prevents teams from trading for multiple players on Designated Player Rookie Scale Extensions (Kyrie Irving is currently signed under one).
Today’s news began with this story from ESPN, a summary of Davis’ intentions and the position that the Lakers and Celtics are in to acquire him. We’ve also seen a variety of interesting Tweets reporting trade talks between Lakers GM Magic Johnson and Pelicans GM Dell Demps.
Lakers president Magic Johnson and the Lakers then presented five different trade scenarios to Demps on Wednesday and are waiting to hear back from Demps about which interest him the most, per sources.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) January 31, 2019
And interestingly enough, one of the rumored scenarios was reported – and it’s admittedly a bold offer.
Sources: Lakers let Demps know one of trade scenarios would include Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac, No. 1 pick, per source.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) January 31, 2019
In more discouraging news for the Celtics, this little nugget was officially dropped as well, confirming Davis’ plans to land in Los Angeles no matter what.
Anthony Davis' plan is to to treat any trade destination as a one-year stop, unless it's the Lakers, sources tell @wojespn and @ZachLowe_NBA. He would plan to move to the Lakers as a free agent in 2020. pic.twitter.com/J5op3BI9GV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 31, 2019
One thing is clear: the Lakers aren’t messing around this time. We’ve seen this drama play out over the last couple years, first with Paul George, and then with Kawhi Leonard. The Lakers failed to land either of those players, and seem to have put all of their chips in on Anthony Davis coming to Los Angeles to be LeBron James’ second superstar.
With all of this noise being pointed towards a Lakers trade, it’s easy to assume that such a trade is inevitable. But at times like these, it’s important to keep a little perspective. Here’s why Boston Celtics fans should rest easy about the chances of obtaining the generational big man.