Anthony Davis‘ return to Boston on Tuesday night prompted another round of speculation about the possibility of the Celtics acquiring the Pelicans‘ star in a trade at some point. However, appearing today on Dan Le Batard’s show, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski shot down that speculation, suggesting that there’s nothing to the rumors linking Davis to Boston (Twitter links via Jake Madison of Locked on Pels).
According to Wojnarowski, Davis still wants to make things work in New Orleans, and that feeling is certainly mutual. It would take a major change in direction for the franchise to consider moving Davis, according to Woj, who reiterates that the Pelicans still want to re-sign DeMarcus Cousins this summer to keep their star-studded frontcourt intact.
Here are a few more trade notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- Wojnarowski provided another trade-related tidbit on Tuesday during an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump. According to Spencer Checketts of 1280 Sports in Utah (Twitter link), Wojnarowski confirmed that the Cavaliers are looking to add size, noting that Jazz big man Derrick Favors might be a fit. Teams are calling Utah to ask about Favors, according to Woj.
- With about $85.6MM in team salary on their 2017/18 books, the Mavericks are one of the few teams with the cap flexibility to take on contracts this season, and they intend to take advantage of that flexibility if they can, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “I would say we are looking to use our cap space actively,” owner Mark Cuban said this week. “We will take back salary to get picks or guys we think can play.”
- While Hornets point guard Kemba Walker is worth keeping an eye on as the trade deadline approaches, it doesn’t appear at this point that Charlotte will seriously consider moving him, as Steve Kyler writes in a Basketball Insiders article and on Twitter.
Just re-sign Cousins and change the landscape of the NBA. Cousins and Davis can win a title together within 4-5 years as long as they both buy in and commit to winning.
Dell Demps did not bring Cousins to NO just to use him as a rental, Cousins and Davis can win a title together and change how the game is played on the perimeter. He’s definitely re-signing.
The Pels need a MUCH better bench and should not have E’Twan Moore as their 4th best player. He is good and underrated, but he is a 7th man or 6th man.
AGREED! NO NEED to sign a few more quality smalls who can score at will and to strengthen their bench. if they do that this summer, I give them 2 seasons and they’ll be champions
The bigger problem for the Pelicans has been injuries. They always seem to be dealing with an injury to a major rotation player. Davis and Jrue Holiday are injury prone and they always seem to be missing one of their wing players.
They just aren’t good. They stuck in mediocrity.
Vince Carter would be a nice asset to acquire too
Cousins will not be the centerpiece of a championship team. Davis, maybe. Cousins? Nope.
Cousins has a ton of talent, but after watching last nights game vs the Celtics, I realize why so many teams want no part of him. He simply quits during portions of the game. He didn’t get a foul call on one offensive possession, and subsequently never went past half court to play defense. He was totally out of the picture for the entire Celtics possession. It wasn’t a fast break either. It was a half court set. That’s gross. I watched his play more closely after that, and you could see how he just doesn’t try at different moments of the game when something doesn’t go his way. What a dog. Albeit a very talented dog. I couldn’t help but think of Derrick Coleman when watching Cousins last night. To think Cousins is going to get a megamax, or whatever silly name the NBA gave their tiering system. $40 million or so per for a guy who doesn’t try all the time.
Boogie to DC…. good comparison.
Boogies like a spoilt little brat at times, but has been less noticeable this season now that he’s with another quality star compared to him being in Sac
MVP Currently
Harden
Giannis
LBJ
Curry
Durant
Kyrie
AD
LeBron needs to go to New Orleans with Anthony Davis if the Cavs can’t trade for him. (I don’t think LeBron would ever do that, but it would make and interesting combination) If Boston can’t trade for Davis there is no way Cleveland can. Cleveland needs do whatever they can to get Anthony Davis besides trade LeBron. This would most likely keep LeBron in Cleveland, but this would also cover them if LeBron leaves. Also, Davis is so young that LeBron would probably have until the end of his career to win a championship. They probably need some other help too.
If LeBron wants to win more championships he needs to take a pay cut to recruit better players to be around him. He definitely deserves what he is payed now and more, but to get other guys around him to win the Finals multiple times together he has to take less. He already has more money than anyone would ever need, and he receives money from other ventures. He doesn’t need to be the highest paid player on the team.
Just tell Lebron to sign with the Warriors, he never has enough.
Lol you’re acting like he’s always had a full 12 man roster filled with All-NBA talents. The LeBron-led teams that have made it to the Finals have always had two other star players. After that, the skill of the role players has varied. The Cleveland team the past two years (with Kyrie) was one of the deepest teams but too many of those guys were one-way players or just not worth their price. Tristan Thompson can be effective but he’s not worth his salary and his ceiling is rim runner who doesn’t space the offense and provides a defensive presence without actually being a rim protector. Shumpert is okay defensively, but he’s more of a defensive pest than an actual shutdown defender and his offense is nonexistent. Korver is a great 3-pt shooter, but isn’t athletic enough to be a good defender. Same with Channing Frye. JR Smith has surprised me with how much he has developed on the defensive end, but he’s always been a streaky scorer. K-Love is a good offensive player but has always been a defensive liability (something that just wasn’t highlighted during his time in Minny since the blame could be thrown onto the team as a whole for being bad). Even Kyrie was a near defensive liability in Cleveland.
Not every team is as lucky as the Warriors to have a top 3 player in the league fall into their lap just as the salary cap sky rockets and an oft-injured point guard suddenly find a way to avoid said injuries while also revolutionizing the game offensively who was signed to a bargain deal.
LeBron’s biggest request last year was a point guard who could take some of the offensive responsibilities off of LeBron and Kyrie. More simply put, a guy who could actually run the offense when Kyrie/LeBron rested. The answer to that was Deron Williams who was a shell of his former self and also disappeared in the playoffs. Even at his best last year, Deron Williams was a shooter and not a guy who could run an offense. Part of that is D-Will getting old/injured and part of that is T-Lue and the rest of the Cavs players coming to rely on LeBron too much.
Seems like an easy three team trade. Cavs get Favors, Bulls get Cleveland’s first round draft pick (not the Brooklyn one), and the Jazz get Mirotic from Chicago.
If only it was that easy. Cavs do not have the cap space nor roster position to acquure any more players unless they trade themselves, so I doubt this would happen.
Nets Pick > Favors expiring contract
when are they going to stop with this rumor? just because the celtics want him doesn’t mean it’ll happen
Really – yet “another round of speculation” about N.O. giving up a top 5 player for pieces. I guess because the Celts want the guy, and they fleeced the Cavs for KI. N.O. might as well disband the club if they trade AD at this point in his career.