The Los Angeles Lakers are currently trying to get back in the playoff picture in the Western Conference, but in recent days, there has been more talk about what is going on off the court than on it.
New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis and agent Rich Paul made it known that Davis would like to be traded, with the Lakers being his preferred destination.
It also came out on Monday that Davis would be open to being traded to the Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks, although none of those teams currently have the assets to trump an offer from the Lakers.
That offer currently is believed to include Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley and two first-round picks.
One team that Davis did not list as being open to being traded to was the Boston Celtics, who wouldn’t even be able to put together an offer for him until the summer.
It does not seem like that is deterring Danny Ainge though as he has still been in contact with Pelicans general manager Dell Demps about his possible willingness to include Jayson Tatum if the Pelicans wait until the summer to trade Davis.
Because of that, the Lakers are now uncertain if they’ll be able to complete a trade with the Pelicans before Thursday’s deadline, reportsESPN’s Ramona Shelburne:
Yes. So far, the Lakers have felt conversations with New Orleans have been one-sided and they are growing increasingly pessimistic about the Pelicans willingness to do a deal with them. https://t.co/vbMEcLTHwY
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 5, 2019
If the Lakers are not able to get a deal done then they can always revisit talks in the summer, although it has been reported that Los Angeles may be less willing to do that with other stars like Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, among others, available on the free agent market.
The way it is currently looking though, Davis will either finish out the season in a Pelicans or Lakers uniform unless another team comes in with an unexpected aggressive offer.
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