Anthony Davis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Trade Rumors: Davis, Randolph, Wolves, Morris

February 7th, 2019 at 12:44am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks and Lakers are equal on Anthony Davis‘ list of preferred destinations, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. The Clippers and Bucks also remain in the top four, Stein adds. New York may make a bid for Davis before the deadline, but it should be in a stronger position after the draft lottery when everyone knows where its first-rounder will fall (Twitter link).

League sources tell Stein that Davis doesn’t expect to sign his next contract before he reaches free agency in 2020, no matter where he is by then (Twitter link). That means anyone who trades for Davis won’t be assured of a long-term extension.

He has been sidelined with a fractured left index finger, but Davis intends to resume playing regardless of what happens at the trade deadline (Twitter link). He has received medical clearance to return to action, but the Pelicans haven’t divulged their plans for Davis if there’s no trade on Thursday. He was held out of two games this week to avoid further injury.

Here’s a roundup of rumors heading into the trade deadline:

The Lakers are running out of hope that a Davis trade will be completed before the deadline, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Pelicans GM Dell Demps hasn’t responded to Magic Johnson’s latest offer, and it appears New Orleans is content to run out the clock. The Pelicans may never have been serious about dealing with L.A. and might have been trying to sabotage the Lakers as revenge for what they consider to be tampering, tweets Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN’s “The Jump.” “It’s not just possible, it’s what happened,” colleague Brian Windhorst said today in an appearance on the show.
The Mavericks will have buyout talks with newly acquired Zach Randolph, Wojnarowski tweets. The 37-year-old hasn’t played yet this season, but he may be able to help a contender.
The Timberwolves continue to look for someone to take Jeff Teague and Gorgui Dieng, sources tell Chris Hine of The Star-Tribune. Teague has a $19MM player option for next season, while Dieng still has two seasons left on his four-year, $63MM deal. Minnesota hasn’t found much interest, but it may be willing to attach Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, Anthony Tolliver or Luol Deng as incentives.
New Pelican Markieff Morris could become a buyout candidate once he’s fully recovered from a neck injury, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
The Thunder plan to watch what the Suns do with Wayne Ellington and may be interested if he hits the buyout market, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link).

Celtics Reluctant To Make Promises But Prepared To Offer ‘Explosive’ Package For AD

February 6th, 2019 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans reached out to the Celtics this week and have engaged in talks about the possible framework of a trade for Anthony Davis, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

According to Himmelsbach, the Pelicans have pushed the Celtics to make guarantees on specific packages they’d be willing to offer for Davis in the summer to ensure that if they keep the All-NBA big man at the deadline, it would be for good reason. Due to an obscure rule related to the designated rookie extension, the C’s are ineligible to acquire AD now as long as Kyrie Irving remains on the roster.

Boston has been reluctant to make any specific promises, since a lot could change in five months. However, sources tell Himmelsbach that the Celtics have made it clear that they’ll be prepared to offer an “explosive” package for Davis when the time comes, and that no player or pick will be off-limits. The club’s collection of assets includes Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and a slew of future first-round picks, including selections from the Kings, Clippers, and Grizzlies.

Himmelsbach’s report covers similar ground to one we relayed earlier today, which indicated that the Pelicans and Celtics have “extensively” discussed Tatum. Boston is understandably unwilling to promise that the former No. 3 pick will be on the table in the offseason, since the landscape could theoretically change significantly between now and then — for instance, Davis could suffer a major injury or Tatum could help lead the C’s to a championship. However, based on various reports, it sounds like the Celtics are giving the Pelicans the impression that Tatum will probably be available.

Davis’ camp has conveyed that Boston isn’t a preferred landing spot for the Pelicans star, but the Celtics are undeterred by those reports, writes Himmelsbach. There’s a belief within the organization that if Davis and Irving are united in the summer, “any unease that either of them has about the future would be washed away,” he adds.

Despite all the rumors swirling around Davis and Irving at the moment, team ownership has made it clear that the focus of this season should be on trying to win a title, per Himmelsbach. The Celtics still believe that’s possible without making any major changes, given their recent hot streak and rise up the Eastern standings.

Trade Rumors: Wolves, A. Davis, Irving, Conley, More

February 6th, 2019 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

After making a big splash earlier in the season by sending Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia, the Timberwolves remain active on the trade market, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who reports that GM Scott Layden is “canvassing the league for available deals.” Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News relays a similar sentiment, tweeting that Layden has been “much more communicative” than in past years.

According to Wolfson, players on expiring contracts are available, as are Jeff Teague and Gorgui Dieng. However, as of Tuesday, there was “zero sense” that anything was close to getting done. Meanwhile, sources tell Krawczynski that multiple teams checked in last month on Andrew Wiggins to see if the Timberwolves might be willing to move him for “pennies on the dollar.” Those inquires qualified more as due diligence though, and didn’t really go anywhere, per Krawczynski.

Here are several more trade rumors from around the NBA:

The Pelicans still have yet to respond to the Lakers‘ most recent trade offer for Anthony Davis, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). L.A. reportedly pulled out of talks on Tuesday after making a big offer on Monday night, though it appears the club would be ready to re-engage if New Orleans makes a counter-offer.
While Kyrie Irving‘s comments on his upcoming free agency last week had some league observers wondering if the Celtics would consider moving him at the trade deadline, the team – unsurprisingly – has no intention to do so, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. “Boston’s not taking calls on Kyrie,” one general manager said. “That was made pretty clear.”
The Grizzlies are believed to be seeking multiple first-round picks in any package for Mike Conley, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. According to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune, the Jazz’s final offer to Memphis was a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and expiring contracts (likely Ricky Rubio and Derrick Favors). The Grizzlies asked for Dante Exum, but were told no, per Jones (Twitter link via John Martin of 92.9 ESPN).
A source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times that the Bulls have received “a handful” of calls about Jabari Parker within the last week. Parker is a candidate to be traded, or to be bought out if Chicago can’t find a suitable deal.
According to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), the Hawks have started to receive more calls on veteran trade candidates Kent Bazemore, Dewayne Dedmon, and Jeremy Lin. Smith adds (via Twitter) that Knicks forward Noah Vonleh is another trade candidate to watch, as he has generated multiple inquiries.

Celtics, Pelicans Have Extensively Discussed Tatum

February 6th, 2019 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

While the Celtics aren’t permitted to actually complete a trade this week for Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis while Kyrie Irving remains on their roster, there’s nothing stopping the two teams from talking — and it sounds like there has been plenty of talk.

A source with knowledge of those talks tells Sam Amick of The Athletic that Boston and New Orleans have discussed C’s forward Jayson Tatum “extensively,” adding that Tatum is expected to be a major part of negotiations if the two sides reconnect in the summer.

While the Celtics and Pelicans have apparently had a number of discussions about Tatum, it’s worth noting that Amick stops short of saying Boston has promised to include the former No. 3 overall pick in an offer for Davis in the offseason. As ESPN’s Zach Lowe observes in an in-depth breakdown of the Davis situation, the C’s have vowed to be aggressive in their pursuit of AD if he’s still a Pelican in the summer, but there are no indications that they’ve explicitly agreed to include Tatum in their package.

It’s a somewhat unprecedented situation, Lowe writes, since there are few scenarios in NBA history where a CBA quirk has required a potential trade partner to wait several months to actually complete a deal for a star player. If the Celtics tell the Pelicans now that they’d include Tatum, it’s possible circumstances could change by June — perhaps Davis suffers a major injury or Irving decides to leave Boston, and the C’s rethink their willingness to move Tatum.

The uncertainty surrounding Tatum is just one of many factors that complicate the Pelicans’ decision-making process, but his upside arguably exceeds that of any of the players the Lakers have offered New Orleans, Lowe writes. If the Pelicans wait until the offseason to make a Davis deal, Tatum could be on the table, and New Orleans will also have a clearer sense of the Knicks’ draft position, which looms as a major wild card as well. As such, it might make sense for the Pels to remain patient.

Here’s more on the Davis trade saga:

According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, league sources expect negotiations between the Pelicans and Lakers to resume before Thursday’s deadline, since L.A. is running out of time and may not have many more avenues to acquiring a star to pair with LeBron James.
O’Connor also hears from a league source that the wishes of Lonzo Ball and his camp will have no bearing on how the Lakers and Pelicans approach trade negotiations.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider link) makes the case that it wouldn’t be in the Lakers‘ best interests to give up all their best non-LeBron assets for Davis.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores the Lakers‘ fallback options if they don’t trade for Davis this week.

Pelicans’ Anthony Davis Medically Cleared To Return

February 5th, 2019 at 6:12pm CST by marksuleymanov

With a flurry of trade rumors surrounding his future, Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis has been medically cleared to play from his left index finger fracture, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. However, New Orleans does not plan on playing Davis before Thursday’s trade deadline and will re-evaluate his status if he’s not dealt, per Charania (Twitter link).

Charania’s report comes after Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports wrote earlier today that Davis had hoped to play in Monday’s game against Indiana, but was held out of action by the Pelicans.

Davis, 25, has not played since January 18 when he suffered the injury to his left index finger. He was initially expected to miss one to two weeks until he was diagnosed with a fracture.

Prior to the injury, Davis was in the midst of another MVP-caliber season. In 41 games, the five-time All-Star is averaging career-highs with 29.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG and 2.6 BPG.

The five-time All-Star’s named has been mired in rumors since his demand to be traded went public. The Lakers have been the most active team in pursuit of Davis but reportedly “pulled out” of trade talks – at least for now – due to New Orleans’ high demands.

As we have previously relayed, Davis’ agent Rich Paul notified Pelicans’ brass that Davis would entertain signing long-term deals with the Knicks, Bucks and Clippers. The Celtics also maintain a strong interest but it does not appear to be mutual.

Lawrence’s Latest: Bucks, Mirotic, Sixers, Gasol

February 5th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

No one seems convinced that the Bucks are a viable suitor for Anthony Davis, given their dearth of first-round picks and the fact that most of their best players are on expiring contracts. However, co-owner Marc Lasry is still encouraged by the fact that Davis’ four-team list of preferred destinations includes Milwaukee, as he tells Sporting News’ Mitch Lawrence.

“I saw that report, and I think it’s great,” Lasry said. “It’s a little bit of what we want. We want players to come and play in Milwaukee. And part of it is, when you’re winning and you’re setting a standard for excellence, people see that. People want to win. It doesn’t make a difference if you’re in Milwaukee, New York or L.A. The whole goal is winning. So we hope it would be players like Anthony Davis and others who want to come to Milwaukee.”

Lasry, who may be bordering on tampering territory with his comments to Lawrence, acknowledged that it would be tricky for the Bucks to make a deal for Davis using the club’s current assets.

Here’s more from Lawrence:

The Bucks are working on a smaller trade or two, according to Lawrence, who identifies Pelicans forward Nikola Mirotic as one potential target for Milwaukee. “He’d be the perfect fit for the Bucks,” an Eastern Conference general manager said of Mirotic. “Another guy who can knock down threes would make them even more dangerous.”
The Sixers are another team interested in Mirotic and have offered the Pelicans a pair of second-round picks for him, per Lawrence. For salary-matching purposes, Wilson Chandler would likely have to be involved in any 76ers deal for Mirotic. Philadelphia has also looked at Terrence Ross (Magic) and Wesley Matthews (Knicks), Lawrence notes.
An Eastern Conference GM tells Lawrence that the Spurs are making an effort to move Pau Gasol. Gasol is on a pseudo-expiring contract, as only $6.7MM of his 2019/20 salary is guaranteed.
Lawrence suggests that the trade market for Grizzlies big man Marc Gasol may be negatively impacted by Gasol’s desire to get a contract extension this summer. If he doesn’t feel as if he’ll get a lucrative multiyear deal in the offseason, the 34-year-old could pick up his $25.6MM player option.

Lakers Reportedly Pull Out Of Anthony Davis Trade Talks

February 5th, 2019 at 1:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have pulled out of negotiations with the Pelicans about a trade for Anthony Davis, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. According to the source, the Lakers balked at New Orleans’ “outrageous” requests for Davis.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski follows up on Turner’s report, tweeting that the Lakers would be willing to re-engage with the Pelicans before Thursday’s trade deadline, but no longer want to bid against themselves. They’ll wait for New Orleans to make a counter-offer, per Wojnarowski, who calls the Lakers’ approach a negotiating tactic pushing the Pelicans to be more active in the process (Twitter link).

According to Turner, Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson informed Pelicans GM Dell Demps on Tuesday that the team had made its best offer for Davis and would be moving on rather than continuing to add to that package.

Late on Monday night, the Lakers increased their offer for Davis once more, according to Turner, who says that the Lakers were willing to send their entire young core of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Ivica Zubac to New Orleans. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and two first-round picks would also have been included in the swap, and the Lakers were willing to take on Solomon Hill‘s pricey multiyear contract, per the Times’ report.

While it’s hard to see how the Lakers could add much more to that offer, the Pelicans have reportedly sought four first-round picks and multiple second-round picks from L.A. as part of the package. The Lakers don’t intend to send six (or more) draft picks to the Pelicans, per Turner’s source.

“(The Pelicans) wanted more and more and more,” one source told Turner. “There was no more to give. They had cap relief with Hill being in the deal. But the more they wanted, the more it because outrageous and unrealistic.”

Reports we relayed earlier today suggested that the Pelicans felt they needed to be “overcompensated” to seriously consider sending Davis to the Lakers this week, since they think there will be more options available to them in the summer — particularly since the Celtics can enter the mix at that point.

The Pelicans also reportedly believe that the current Lakers offer will still be available in the offseason, though Turner notes that L.A. has indicated that won’t be the case. The Lakers don’t want to get into a bidding war with Boston in the offseason, according to Turner, who has previously suggested that the club may shift its focus to star free agents if it doesn’t acquire AD this week.

Turner adds that one person told him that New Orleans is hopeful that Davis will reverse course and recommit to the Pelicans if he remains on the roster through the deadline, though that seems pretty unlikely. According to Scott Kushner of The Advocate (Twitter link), multiple sources “strongly deny” that the Pelicans are still holding out hope for a long-term union with Davis.

In related news, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported this morning that Davis feels “healthy” following his finger injury and had hoped to return to action for the Pels on Monday night against Indiana, but the organization elected to keep him inactive. The All-Star big man almost certainly won’t suit up for New Orleans again until after the deadline, assuming he returns to the club at all.

Latest Anthony Davis Trade Rumors

February 5th, 2019 at 8:31am CST by Luke Adams

Monday was an eventful day for the Anthony Davis rumor mill, as news broke that Davis’ camp had provided the Pelicans with a list of four teams – the Lakers, Knicks, Clippers, and Bucks – with which he’d be willing to sign long-term. Around the same time, the Lakers reportedly increased their offer for Davis, proposing a deal that would give New Orleans young players, multiple first-round picks, and salary relief. However, the Pels continue to lean toward hanging onto Davis beyond the deadline.

That Lakers offer – which includes Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, two first-round picks, three veterans for salary-matching purposes, and the Lakers taking back Solomon Hill – is the strongest pitch L.A. has made for Davis. However, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers have felt that their conversations with the Pelicans have been “one-sided,” and they’re becoming increasingly pessimistic that New Orleans will make a deal with them this week.

The Pelicans have yet to provide the Lakers with a counter-offer, but in order to seriously consider Davis to the Lakers this week they’d want to be compensated – or, more accurately, “overcompensated” – for passing up on the chance to see what the offseason would bring, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Woj, GM Dell Demps and the Pels are seeking more draft picks from the Lakers — they want a “historic” haul of draft assets that would include four first-rounders, along with multiple second-round picks.

Wojnarowski writes that the Pelicans believe any offer the Lakers make now will still be available to them during the offseason, and multiple rival GMs think that New Orleans may use L.A.’s final offer this week as a baseline for negotiations in the summer.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has, of course, been urging the Pelicans to wait until the offseason, when the designated rookie rule restricting Boston from acquiring Davis will no longer apply. League sources tell Wojnarowski that the C’s have “promised to be aggressive” with their assets at that point as they pursue Davis.

According to Chris Mannix of SI.com, the Celtics have “refused to directly dangle” Jayson Tatum at this point, but the Pelicans have received the impression that nothing and no one would be off the table this summer in discussions with Boston. The Pelicans are “enamored” with Tatum, per Mannix, who suggests that Tatum’s franchise-player potential is higher than that of anyone in the Lakers’ offer. Acquiring a player with All-NBA potential in an AD trade is reportedly a goal for New Orleans.

Davis’ camp has repeatedly made it clear that Boston isn’t a preferred destination for the All-NBA big man, but that strong anti-Celtics stance may be posturing in an effort to push AD to the Lakers. Ainge is unconcerned that the C’s aren’t on Davis’ wish list, and there’s little that would dissuade him from aggressively pursuing AD in the offseason, Mannix writes.

Here are a few more Davis-related items to kick off Tuesday:

While the Knicks are one of the teams on Davis’ wish list, they haven’t re-engaged the Pelicans since trading Kristaps Porzingis last week, sources tell Wojnarowski. Winning the draft lottery would be the Knicks’ best path to building a viable offer for Davis, which is one more reason why the Pelicans could be incentivized to wait until the offseason to make a move.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has not been included in any of the Lakers‘ offers for Davis, since he has the ability to veto a trade and has shown no interest in going to the Pelicans, per Tania Ganguli and Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Although the Lakers and KCP’s camp have been exploring possible destinations for the veteran wing, he appears unlikely to be moved this week, one source tells the Times duo.
The Suns have reached out to the Pelicans and Lakers and let them know that they’d have interest in Lonzo Ball and would be open to joining a potential Davis trade as a third team, according to Ganguli and Turner. Ball’s father LaVar said on Monday that he wants to see his son land in Phoenix if he’s traded by the Lakers.
If Davis remains in New Orleans through the deadline, there’s a “real possibility” that he and the Pelicans could agree to a limited playing schedule for the season’s final two months, according to Wojnarowski. That decision has yet to be made though.

Western Notes: Davis, Warriors, Durant, Jordan, Bluiett

February 4th, 2019 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Amid all the trade talk, Anthony Davis has been on the sidelines due to a finger injury. That could change in the near future, whether or not he’s dealt by the Pelicans. Davis has been cleared to practice, ESPN’s Michael C. Wright reports. Davis has missed the last seven games with a sprained left index finger. However, it’s uncertain when Davis will return to action as coach Alvin Gentry was evasive on that topic.

We have more from around the Western Conference:

The Warriors will take a hard look at the buyout market after the trade deadline but won’t necessarily add another piece, ESPN’s Nick Friedell reports. GM Bob Myers feels comfortable with his roster at the moment. “We’ll see who’s bought out, first of all,” Myers said. “And then if it’s a player we think makes sense that can help us win a championship, then we’ll look at it. … We’re still probably a week or so away from those things happening.”
Speculation over Kevin Durant‘s future hasn’t impacted Golden State’s locker room, Myers claimed in the same report. “I don’t necessarily feel that in the locker room personally,” Myers said. “I don’t feel like it’s become part of our fabric.”
DeAndre Jordan is unlikely to return to the Mavericks as a free agent this summer, Matt Mosley of the Dallas Morning News speculates. Jordan was included in the blockbuster deal with the Knicks that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas. The only way Jordan would consider re-signing with Dallas for the second straight summer is if he fails to land a multi-year deal elsewhere. The Mavericks wouldn’t view Jordan as part of their long-term plan, Mosley adds.
Pelicans two-way guard Trevon Bluiett underwent surgery last week to repair an ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, according to a team press release. No timetable for his return has been announced. Bluiett has appeared in 24 G League games with the Salt Lake City Stars but has yet to make his NBA debut.

Pelicans Leaning Toward Keeping Davis Past Deadline

February 4th, 2019 at 9:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers are fighting an uphill battle to finalize a deal for Anthony Davis before the trade deadline, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. There’s significant support within the Pelicans organization to retain Davis for the remainder of the season and revisit trade talks during the offseason, when several new and different scenarios would be available to them, Wojnarowski adds.

The Lakers are growing increasingly pessimistic the Pelicans will make a deal with them, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets.

The Lakers upped the ante on Monday in their zeal to acquire Davis, who can become a free agent in the summer of 2020. They are presently offering the Pelicans a package built around three young starters — Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball— and two first-round picks. They’re also willing to take on Solomon Hill‘s contract, which runs through next season.

Los Angeles president Magic Johnson had multiple phone conversations with New Orleans GM Dell Demps on Monday. Davis expanded his list of teams that he’d consider signing with in the long term besides the Lakers, including the Bucks, Clippers and Knicks. But the Clippers and Bucks have yet to make offers for Davis and the Knicks haven’t contacted Demps since trading Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas, league sources told Wojnarowski.

The Celtics remain anxious to trade for Davis during the offseason and pair him with Kyrie Irving, though their plan to pursue Davis remains unaffected by whatever Irving might do in free agency. The Celtics remain confident they’ll re-sign Irving, Wojnarowski adds.

New Orleans is hopeful the Celtics might include their top young player, Jayson Tatum, along with a package of first-round picks. By waiting past the deadline, the Pelicans would also have a better idea what type of first-round picks the Celtics could convey to them.