The Boston Celtics are on Anthony Davis’ list of desired trade destinations
Look away Lakers fans, Anthony Davis said Saturday the Boston Celtics are on his list of desired trade destinations from the New Orleans Pelicans.
A day after the New Orleans Pelicans fired general manager Dell Demps, Anthony Davis answered questions about his trade request at All-Star weekend Saturday. Regarding his list of desired destinations, Davis said the Boston Celtics are indeed included on it.
Anthony Davis is asked about the Boston Celtics not being on his list. “They are on my list.”
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 16, 2019
This is contradictory of a report from three days before the NBA Trade Deadline, where Davis’ list included the Lakers, Knicks and a number of other teams, but the Celtics were not on it.
Beyond the Lakers and Knicks, the Pelicans have been made aware of "a handful" of teams that Anthony Davis would be willing to sign long-term with upon a trade, league sources tell ESPN. Boston isn't included on that list.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 4, 2019
Davis clarified his earlier statement where he claimed he never said the Celtics weren’t on his list. He’s not wrong. This is the first time Davis has spoken on the record about his preferred destinations, so this is legitimate news and a big win for the Celtics in the Davis sweepstakes.
Davis originally requested a trade from the Pelicans in an effort to get dealt to Los Angeles and join LeBron James on the Lakers. The trade deadline on February 7th provided a window for the Lakers to give their best offer while the Celtics were forced to wait for July 1st. Because of the Rose Rule, the Celtics were not allowed to trade for Davis due to the designated rookie extension he signed in 2015. Kyrie Irving signed a similar contract in 2014, and since the Celtics traded for Irving, they are prohibited from acquiring two such players in a trade.
Once Irving opts out of the final year of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent, the Celtics will officially be allowed to execute a trade for Davis. Reports surfaced before the trade deadline centered around the growing uncertainty of Irving returning to Boston. If Irving was not going to re-sign with the Celtics, Davis had no interest in re-signing once his contract is up after next season.
The Celtics are confident in Irving re-signing, and once the season ends, they will be in the driver’s seat to acquire Davis. Remember, the new league year starts on July 1st, but the Celtics can discuss trade parameters any time before that. It’s unlikely they do it before the season ends because of the risk of certain trade packages leaking during the playoffs, but I would guess the Pelicans and Celtics begin discussions before the NBA Draft on June 20th.
Next. What Dell Demps' firing means for the Celtics' pursuit of Anthony Davis. dark
This is big news in the Davis sweepstakes. The Celtics are the team with the most to offer in a trade, and now with Davis expressing his desire to play in Boston long term if he’s dealt there, they have every motivation necessary to secure one of the best players in the world. This should make for an interesting offseason, which is something Celtics fans have grown accustomed to with Danny Ainge steering the ship.