Anthony Davis has requested a trade. For Lakers fans, this is excellent news. For the entire city of New Orleans, this has been a hellish month. First, their Saints lose in heartbreaking fashion to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game. Then, their star player requests a trade, likely to the Los Angeles Lakers, because their owner spent too much time worrying about the Saints.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, part of the reason that Anthony Davis has requested a trade is due to ownership not caring as much about the Pelicans as they do about the Saints.
As if it’s not tough enough as it is to convince a megastar to stay in a small market, a source with knowledge of Davis’ thinking said the idea that the Pelicans were less of a priority to ownership than the Saints has been a growing concern. While Pelicans officials push back against this notion, all it takes to understand why someone might question that element is a quick peek at Loomis’ biography in the Pelicans media guide. Of the 541 words describing his involvement, 497 are spent chronicling his football accomplishments.
This already-tricky dynamic grew even more complicated last March, when longtime owner Tom Benson passed away and full control of both franchises was passed on to his wife, Gayle.
The moves that the Pelicans have made since acquiring Davis in the draft have been questionable at best. Perhaps if ownership had taken a bit more control of the moves made on their NBA franchise, they wouldn’t be losing the best player that will ever play for their team.
