Ever since Anthony Davis requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, the NBA has been filled with chaos.
As it always seems to go whenever a superstars wants out of his current situation, the Los Angeles Lakers are at the forefront of the trade buzz. The Lakers are doing everything they can to acquire Davis before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, but with the 25-year-old under contract through next season, the Pelicans could wait until this summer to make a deal.
With the Knicks trading away Kristaps Porzingis on Thursday, it appears they might no longer be a threat to acquire Davis via trade before the deadline. The Celtics can only trade for him if they send out Kyrie Irving in order to abide by a provision in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
The Lakers appear to be in prime position to acquire Davis before the trade deadline, if they can just convince the Pelicans to make a deal. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, a deal with the Lakers remains Davis’ top preference.
Anthony Davis is focused on the Lakers as his top preferred destination, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium. The Knicks are also as a preferred landing spot, and made push to New Orleans with offer around Kristaps Porzingis before the Dallas deal.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2019
It will be interesting if the Lakers can make a deal with Pelicans before Thursday’s deadline while the Celtics seemingly remain out of the picture for now. If the trade talks have to resume in the offseason, more teams will be in play, which could be problematic for the Lakers.
The good thing for the Lakers, though, is that Davis wants to be in Los Angeles as soon as he can. If he continues to notify teams that he will leave as a free agent in 2020 if they trade for him, it only benefits the Lakers. But as we have seen many times in the NBA, things can change very quickly. The clock is ticking.
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