- Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is intrigued by the possibility of a Lonzo Ball–Jrue Holiday backcourt if Davis is dealt to the Lakers, Andrew Lopez of the Times-Picayune reports (hat tip to the Sporting News).
Appearing on the latest episode of PodcastOne Sports Now with Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press (h/t to NBA.com), NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told Reynolds that he has already offered the all-but-assured No. 1 overall pick of the Pelicans, Duke’s Zion Williamson, a little bit of advice on how to enjoy the process of beginning an NBA career.
First off, despite the drama surrounding the Anthony Davis situation in New Orleans right now, Silver says Williamson is fortunate that new president of basketball operations David Griffin was hired, as he is the “right guy at the right time” for the Pelicans, especially since he has the unenviable task of determining whether or not – and perhaps when – to trade Davis. As for the actual advice given to Williamson, Silver said:
“(F)ocus on your game first and foremost the other stuff will come after it. But (that being said), this is a special moment in your life… to the extent you can remain in the moment. There’s so much attention focused on you and at the end of the day this is a game and you now have the opportunity to play it at the highest level. There’s tremendous resources available to you no matter what team drafts you.”
It continues to look more and more unlikely that Davis and Williamson will get to play together in The Big Easy, but that may ultimately be in Williamson’s best interest, as he should be the go-to guy immediately. Moreover, the haul the Pelicans will get in return for Davis should be a nice supporting cast with which to surround Williamson.
A pair of players who have other important things going on this summer will likely be part of Team USA’s entry in the FIBA World Cup, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Hornets guard Kemba Walker has already committed to play in the tournament in China, while Pelicans big man Anthony Davis has offered “strong indications” that he would like to be involved.
Walker will be part of a stellar class when free agency begins at the end of the month, while Davis hasn’t budged on his desire to be traded and will probably be involved a blockbuster deal at some point during the offseason.
Team USA officials would also like to add James Harden to the roster (Twitter link). Zion Williamson, expected to be the first selection in this year’s draft, will be contacted as well (Twitter link).
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will guide the team in the tournament, which will run from August 31 to September 15. That leaves a small gap until NBA training camps, which open September 27 for teams making overseas trips and September 30 for everyone else (Twitter link).
In a recent interview on Danny Green‘s podcast, Josh Hart said he felt that LeBron James and fellow Rich Paul client Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were the only untouchables when the Lakers tried to deal for Anthony Davis in February (hat tip to Christian Rivas of Silver Screen and Roll).
Caldwell-Pope had the equivalent of a no-trade clause because he signed back-to-back one-year contracts and would have lost his Bird rights with any team that dealt for him. Even so, Hart described the experience as disruptive.
“It was just different because guys feel like, ‘All right, we rocking together,’” Hart said. “Beginning of the year, we rocking together and then we had the injuries and A.D., who’s obviously with Klutch, so it’s like, ‘All right, we don’t know what’s going on with this one.’ So it’s just different.”
There’s more today from Los Angeles:
- Former Celtics great Paul Pierce isn’t surprised that James’ first year in L.A. turned out poorly, telling Steve Bullpet of The Boston Herald that James chose the Lakers for reasons other than basketball. “Based on the roster, this was an after-basketball decision,” Pierce said. “They had an opportunity to make the team better, but based on how the team was when he went there, that wasn’t about basketball.” Pierce also claims that LeBron never fully won the acceptance of Lakers fans.
- James was on hand to watch Jarrett Culver‘s pre-draft workout, tweets Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Coming off a magnificent performance in the NCAA tournament, Culver is in the mix to be selected by the Lakers with their No. 4 pick. “He was just kind of sitting back and watching,” Culver said of James. “You know, you’ve got LeBron in the gym. That’s amazing to have as a young kid like me. After the workout, he just told me to keep working.”
- More embarrassing stories continue to lower the public perception of the Lakers’ front office, writes Mark Heisler of The Orange County Register. This week’s look inside the organization by ESPN’s Baxter Holmes uncovered more charges of nepotism and cronyism, along with a picture of Magic Johnson as an abusive executive.
With the 2019 NBA draft just three weeks away, the presumptive No. 1 pick has finally selected an agent. CAA Basketball issued a message today (via Twitter) welcoming Zion Williamson to the agency.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski adds more details, tweeting that CAA agent Austin Brown and co-head of client management Lisa Joseph-Metelus will represent the Duke star.
With Williamson locked into the No. 1 slot and rookie contracts for first-round picks predetermined by the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Brown and Joseph-Metelus won’t have to do a ton of lobbying or negotiating on behalf of their new client at the start of his NBA career.
Based on a $109MM cap projection for 2019/20, Williamson’s first four-year contract with the Pelicans is expected to start at about $9.74MM in his rookie year and be worth more than $44MM in total.
CAA’s list of NBA clients also includes stars such as Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Paul George, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, D’Angelo Russell, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Anthony Davis had a meeting with executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin earlier today and while the conversation was “productive,” it appears Davis has already made up his mind. Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links) reports that it’s still highly unlikely that Davis backs off of his trade request.
The Pelicans continue to hold out hope that Davis will reconsider. He’s under contract through the end of the 2019/20 season, so New Orleans could roll the dice and hope that playing alongside presumed No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson for a season will help to change his tune.
[RELATED: Five Key Offseason Questions: New Orleans Pelicans]
More likely, if the Pelicans continue to get the message that Davis will leave, they’ll trade him before the 2020 trade deadline. The Lakers and Knicks are reportedly on his list of preferred destinations. The two teams’ most valuable assets are the No. 3 and No. 4 overall picks, respectively, in the view of sources around the league.
The Celtics are also expected to make a run at trading for Davis, as they envision pairing the big man with Kyrie Irving, who a free agent this summer. Rumblings about the Clippers and Nets as dark horse teams have surfaced as well.
Like the Timberwolves, the Pelicans entered the 2018/19 season hoping to build on a promising return to the playoffs during the previous spring, but instead saw their year torpedoed by a trade request that led to a messy public saga.
Unlike Minnesota, New Orleans didn’t actually end up trading its star, but that didn’t help the team’s general manager save his job. Dell Demps was dismissed during the season and has since been replaced by David Griffin, a veteran executive who has an NBA championship on his résumé.
It’ll now be up to Griffin to decide what to do with Anthony Davis, but it’s not all bad news for the Pelicans’ incoming executive VP of basketball operations — by virtue of winning the draft lottery earlier this month, the team is positioned to secure a new franchise player, Zion Williamson, even if its current one has played his last game for the club.
Here are five key questions facing the franchise this summer:
1. Would David Griffin be willing to keep Anthony Davis with no long-term assurances?
Griffin and Davis met today in Los Angeles. According to a report, the two sides are expected to “continue a dialogue” about their future going forward. But for now, let’s assume that despite his best efforts, Griffin is unable to convince Davis to withdraw his trade request and recommit to the Pelicans.
Davis is still under contract for one more year before he can reach unrestricted free agency, and the Pelicans aren’t obligated to trade him. While AD may have burned some bridges with fans in New Orleans, he seemed to be getting along with his teammates and Alvin Gentry‘s coaching staff just fine through the end of the 2018/19 season. He also acknowledged at season’s end that it won’t really be up to him where he plays in 2019/20, admitting that he could return to the team next season.
All that is to say that Griffin and the Pelicans could roll the dice with their All-Star big man, keeping him on the roster to start the ’19/20 campaign. That would give the club more time to sell Davis on a future in New Orleans, and would give AD a chance to see what it’d be like to play alongside Williamson. If he’s still not sold by February, the Pels could flip him at the trade deadline and should still be able to secure a serious haul.
That approach would be a risky one though. If Davis is willing to bypass a super-max extension with the Pelicans this offseason, why should the team have any confidence that he’d change his mind a few months later? And if Davis should suffer a major injury as a Pelican in the fall or winter, his trade value would crater. By moving him this summer, the Pels could bring more suitors to the table and would increase their chances of maximizing the return for their top asset.
2:25pm: After meeting this morning in L.A., Griffin and Davis are expected to “continue a dialogue” going forward, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Griffin will continue to try to make his case for why AD should seriously consider staying in New Orleans.
9:39am: New Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin will get his opportunity to meet with star big man Anthony Davis today, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). While Charania’s report doesn’t include any additional details, Griffin previously said that the meeting would likely take place in Los Angeles.
Since being hired by the Pelicans last month to run the franchise’s front office, Griffin has been adamant about wanting to do all he can to retain Davis, despite the fact that the 26-year-old issued a trade request earlier this year.
Both before and after the draft lottery, reports indicated that Davis’ stance on that trade request remained unchanged, and that he still wants to be dealt to a new team. Now that he has a chance to sit down with his new star, Griffin will try to change Davis’ mind and convince him that he can lead a contender in New Orleans, particularly with the club in position to draft top prospect Zion Williamson next month.
Outside of the impending addition of Williamson, there are a number of factors working in Griffin’s favor. He has a good relationship with AD’s agent Rich Paul, who represented LeBron James when Griffin was the general manager in Cleveland. The Pelicans’ new executive VP of basketball operations also won’t be influenced by any past tension with Davis or his camp, since he wasn’t part of the organization when that trade request was made. Plus, New Orleans can still put a super-max extension offer on the table.
[RELATED: Designated Veteran Extension History, Eligible Players]
If Davis sticks to his trade request and shows no interest in being part of the Pelicans’ long-term future, Griffin would have two viable options: Trade him this offseason, or hang onto him anyway with an eye toward moving him at the 2020 trade deadline (or changing his mind by then).
Earlier today, we ranked 25 of the most valuable trade assets held by a handful of the teams believed to be prime suitors for Davis.
The Anthony Davis sweepstakes are expected to be in full swing until the Pelicans trade the disgruntled big man. Hoops Rumors surveyed past and present NBA executives and scouts to compile a ranking of the players and picks available to the presumed Davis contenders.
We included the Lakers, Knicks, and Celtics, as each has been linked to the big man, as well as the Clippers, who could be the wild card team that acquires him. There may be a number of other suitors for Davis once trade talks begin in earnest, but for now these are the four teams that look best positioned – and most motivated – to make a play for the Pelicans’ star.
Before we move onto our rankings, it’s worth noting that we did not including LeBron James when speaking with sources, since it’s extremely unlikely the Lakers would trade him. Players with the ability to hit the open market, such as Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, were also not included.
Let’s dive in…
1. Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Clippers)
3. No. 3 Overall Pick (Knicks)
There’s an important distinction to remember as we navigate through these players and picks: not everyone within the league is aligned on the value of each asset. The top tier, like many of these clusters, comes down to what exactly you value most.
What route the Pelicans will take if they meet Davis’ trade request isn’t known. New head of basketball operations David Griffin could opt for a full rebuild around Zion Williamson. Or he could look to build around Jrue Holiday and Williamson, aiming to contend for a playoff spot sooner rather than later. The Pelicans were not immediately available to comment on their plan or ranking.
Jayson Tatum is a sure thing. Plug him into the starting lineup in New Orleans and he immediately raises the club’s floor. While he may not ever develop into a true MVP-caliber player and has just two years remaining on his rookie-scale contract, he’s a tantalizing trade chip.
A prospect like R.J. Barrett, the favorite to be selected No. 3 overall, would be on a cost-controlled deal for four years and his cap projection would align with Zion’s in New Orleans, providing an enormous amount of flexibility for a franchise.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has three years remaining on his rookie deal, showed progress over the course of the season and the Clippers love him. While there’s a chance he doesn’t reach it, SGA may have a higher ceiling than Tatum.
One former executive said Gilgeous-Alexander should be No. 1 on this list, telling Hoops Rumors that the 6’5″ point guard would be under strong consideration for the No. 2 overall pick if he were in this year’s draft. Other opinions ranged from definitive top-five selection to simply top 10.
Steve Ballmer‘s club has every asset needed to get a deal done with the Pelicans without including SGA. As for the Celtics, Tatum may not even be on the table in a Davis deal either. Boston could ostensibly acquire Davis without including Tatum, but it would likely require Griffin to have googly eyes for Jaylen Brown or the 2020 Memphis pick (more on that below).
We haven’t heard officially whether the Knicks would pony up the No. 3 overall pick for Davis. There were conflicting reports before the lottery on whether they would have been willing to trade the rights to Williamson for AD if they had landed the No. 1 pick.
4. No. 4 Overall Pick (Lakers)
5. Memphis’ 2020 Top-6 Protected First-Rounder (Celtics)
Opinions are split on the Memphis pick. Some believe the league has overvalued the Celtics’ accumulated selections. For example, the Kings’ selection was once perceived as gold. It ultimately ended up as this year’s No. 14 overall pick (Boston’s, via the Markelle Fultz deal with Philly, via Sacramento’s salary dump of Nik Stauskas, Carl Landry, and Jason Thompson).Read more
Despite the fact that his negotiations for the Lakers’ head coaching job fell through, former Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue continues to draw interest around the NBA. The Rockets and Pelicans have pursued Lue as a potential lead assistant, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
However, according to Charania, Lue remains focused on landing a head coaching job. Sources tell Charania that Lue has passed on a couple offers to become an assistant since he was let go by the Cavaliers last fall.
One of those offers, Charania reports, came from Houston during the season. While the Rockets haven’t made a formal offer recently, they’re on the lookout for assistants after parting ways with Jeff Bzdelik, Mitch Vanya, and Roy Rogers.
As for the Pelicans, there are two connections linking Lue to the franchise. New head of basketball operations David Griffin, of course, worked with the former Cavs coach in Cleveland. Lue also worked alongside Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry in Los Angeles, when both men were assistants on Doc Rivers‘ Clippers staff.
The Grizzlies are currently the only NBA team still in the market for a new head coach, and Lue hasn’t been identified as a potential target for Memphis. Assuming the Grizzlies go in another direction, it will be interesting to see whether Lue becomes more open to a lead assistant role, or whether he’ll consider taking the 2019/20 season off in the hopes of being hired as a head coach next spring.