WS Chronicle

It’s that time of year where we hear all sorts of trade rumors looming around the NBA landscape. The biggest one so far this year has been the possible trade of New Orleans Pelicans center, Anthony Davis, to the Los Angeles Lakers.

While that would be a blockbuster trade, the New York Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks were the first teams to pull off a trade involving a star player. The Knicks traded All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis and three other players to the Mavs in exchange for a package of players that includes Dennis Smith Jr., two other players and two future first-round picks.

The New York/Dallas trade will more than likely be the most impactful trade before the deadline hits, but it speaks to the new trend that seems to be coming in the NBA. According to reports, Porzingis went to the Knicks front office and expressed his concerns about the direction of the franchise and informed them he wished to be traded.

Hours later, the Knicks granted his wish by doing just that. Porzingis is a very good player, although he is currently recovering from an ACL tear in his knee, but he is not Anthony Davis. A trade for Davis would have to include much more for New Orleans to deal him with over a year left on his contract. 

There have been several suitors for Davis’ services. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics have been the most outspoken about obtaining the services of Davis. It has been reported that the Lakers have proposed at least five different trade scenarios thus far. That shows how bad the Lakers really want Davis. Basically, everyone but LeBron is up for grabs.

In recent years, more and more NBA players are expressing their desire to be traded to another franchise. Most notably, Kyrie Irving forced his way out of Cleveland a season ago by expressing his need to be the leader of a team. He got his wish also; now it looks like he may have regretted that decision, but that’s another story for another day.

Kawhi Leonard, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul are other examples of superstar players that forced their way out of town to another team. This tactic has worked for all of those players, so I cannot blame Davis for his actions.

Another reason I can’t blame Davis for wanting to be traded is that owners and general managers routinely trade and release players at the drop of a hat. I am glad the players are taking some of the power away from the owners and giving it to themselves. 

The Pelicans are also a terrible team this season. I am sure Davis is looking at teams such as Golden State, Philadelphia, Boston, Houston and Denver and knows he needs to be on a team like that to compete for a championship.

The Pelicans do not have to trade Davis anytime soon, but they should hold out to get the best deal possible. The Celtics have the best trade pieces available, but can’t trade for Davis right now because of a league rule. He is under contract until the summer of 2020, so the Pelicans have a little time. 

We will have to wait and see where Davis will eventually land. Until then, we will just have to speculate about where he will end up. My bet is in La La Land wearing the purple and gold.