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Let the games begin!
In what was supposed to be a quiet NBA Trade Deadline, Anthony Davis and his agent Rich Paul blew the door wide open last Friday. That’s when Rich Paul notified the Pelicans that Anthony Davis would like to be traded, NOW.
Agent Rich Paul has notified the New Orleans Pelicans that All-NBA forward Anthony Davis has no intention of signing a contract extension if and when presented and that he has requested a trade, Paul told ESPN on Monday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019
Davis could sign a 5-year, $240M contract extension this summer, and can become a free agent in the summer of 2020. https://t.co/Tl7zy7e9UE
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019
Many assume that Davis & Paul made the announcement now so the Celtics couldn’t be part of the negotiations and to allow the Lakers to be the frontrunners by default. The Celtics still want to be able to give Kyrie Irving a supermax to get him to stay. If they were to trade to Davis now, they’d have to choose between their two mega-stars.
This does appear that LeBron is pulling the strings behind the scenes, but if past deals involving stars like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are any indication, a small market/dark horse team can come in at any time and REALLY raise the stakes in this. It was a success for the Thunder, and it’s too early to call for the Raptors.
If Utah were to get involved the asking price could be as high as Rudy Gobert. This isn’t just a star, this is one of THE stars of the NBA, a top 5 players.
If anything, this makes the next couple weeks leading up to the trade deadline a helluva ride.