Anthony Davis rocked the NBA when he publicly requested a trade from the Pelicans, announcing that he would not sign an extension with the franchise. After a period of trade negotiations ahead of the trade deadline, New Orleans stood pat and kept Davis.
Davis’ minutes have been limited on the court since the All-Star break, but he maximized his minutes on a recent appearance on ‘HBO’s The Shop with LeBron James,’ ESPN’s Ian Begley writes. Davis addressed the trade request and his intention to control his career trajectory.
“All the media coverage [is] around me, and now I’m getting a chance to take over my career and say what I want to say and do what I want to do,” Davis said. “So now you see everybody [saying], ‘All right, I see AD changing.’ Everybody’s telling me, ‘You’re growing up. It’s about time to take care of your business, take care of your career.’ So now, as a player, as the CEO of my own business, I’ve got the power. I’m doing what I want to do and not what somebody tells me to do.”
In 49 games, Davis has averaged 27.3 PPG and 12.4 RPG for the Pelicans. He earned his sixth straight All-Star game nod but to preserve his health and avoid a possible injury, Davis’ playing time has been limited.
The Celtics, Lakers, Knicks and other teams have been linked to Davis since his request went public. While the 25-year-old has said he would suit up for any team, he candidly spoke of the uncertainty of his next destination.
“It is tough because you just don’t know. I don’t know,” Davis said. “I have one year left on contract, so I’m not sure what they’re gonna do. Obviously, I stated my intentions. But I did that this year and they [said], ‘No, we’re going to keep you here.’ So for me, it’s just not knowing what’s going to happen.”
Demanding a trade with 2 seasons left is the opposite of maturity. Honor your contract and then you can be CEO, dude.
Amen
Lebron is bad advice
He can ask for a trade and still honor his contract.
If I’m a pelicans fan I’m happy he did this not mad. Instead of dropping max dollars on good but not great guys like jrue holiday. They can start looking for youth and upside. Holiday and Davis were never winning a title. Randle is the only other piece I’ve seen them add in years that is legit. I doubt lakers will give up ball kuzma and Ingram in offseason. I doubt Boston gives up Tatum. But either way between holiday and Davis they will get a shot at upside for years. By being honest he’s being vilified. If anything he should be thanked.
The last quote sure doesn’t sound he has the power.
He is the Best Player in the League, not even close!!!
top 5 player in the league with one of the worst public relations move for both the NBA and pelican fans. what happened to honoring a contract that you agreed to? What all of a sudden since the gm Lebron James wants something it has to be done?
Why y’all keep going on about his contract. His contract is to play basketball for them, which he does. You’re allowed to want to play elsewhere.
@LordBanana. It is not honorable to demand a trade publicly and undermine your current team’s ability to do business. Saying you’ll only go to x and y team and that you will not sign an extension anywhere else kills all trade leverage and dilutes value for the bidding process. This is business 101, not mysterious. They refused to trade him as a message, and to try to recoup some value by involving more teams that might have interest in a one year deal.
What you’re allowed to do and what you should do are two different things. Telling your job, and the public, that you don’t want to be there and can’t wait to leave, is just unprofessional behavior.
That being said, Pelicans have plenty of blame in this too.
In his first 6 seasons Davis missed an average of nearly 14 games a year. The Pelicans have made the playoffs twice in those six seasons. This season he’s lead his team to 13th place in the West. He’s been in the top 10 for MVP twice in six years. You’ve got to show up, and you’ve got to lift your team into the playoffs to be in the discussion for best player.
AD has always been the CEO of his career, including when he signed his current contract.
Exactly right
I think AD & AB probably lost a couple of potential suitors in the future by saying what they did on LeBron’s show. They got to publicly speak their mind but maybe the line saying “there is no such thing as bad publicity because it is still publicity” won’t be true here. Sure, they will eventually get traded but now some teams may back away from them — perhaps ones that would have given a better contract down the road or presented a better place for their “brand.”
None of this is gonna have any real impact on their bottom lines, and they’re both at the point where I think they’d be willing to sacrifice a tiny amount of money to be in a place that treats them how they want to be treated.
What a damn fool.
Have a backbone AD.
STAND for something.
You sad little puppet, you are going to look back on this and deeply regret it.
Look around AD. What do you see? Yeah that’s right, those are called TEAMMATES you narcissist.
You ain’t playin tennis man!!!!
Grow the F**** Up you fake celebrity fake superstar nothing. You have DESTROYED YOUR REPUTATION
You talking garbage, AD is coming out real good!
Just not with the Lakers.
I am the Managing Director of my own private Idaho, and I will buy back all the shares so that my stock rises and then I will be rich, rich I tell ya.
He didn’t say he isn’t going to play for them anymore or he won’t play for them if they don’t trade him! He just said he wants to be traded and have a chance to win because he has been there long enough to see its not gonna happen there. Can’t blame someone for wanting to win! Blame the crappy organization that can’t put a winning a team out there after all these years.