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Anthony Davis is a megastar, a big deal within the NBA that has multiple other stars thriving at the same time. He can play both the center and power forward positions, is able to shoot threes (32.3% this season) and dominates the court on both ends of the floor. However, even Davis himself is unable to shoulder New Orleans' burden. They stand at 15-21 so far this season and even before 2019 begins, the year ahead revolves around one man: Davis.
The reason is simple. The Pelicans probably can't keep him, even though they'd dearly love to, and every team across the league is eager to get their hands on arguably the league's best big man. Throughout the season so far, he's averaging 28.5 points, 13 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game on 50.7% FG. Those are MVP numbers in an ordinary season and he'd easily be a frontrunner for the award if the Pelicans didn't have such a poor record.
Everything they do is centred around Davis. Nikola Mirotic, E'Twaun Moore, Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton are good players, but that's all they are. The Pelicans began the season with a 4-0 record, then promptly dropped the next five games while Davis was sidelined injured. That is not a team built for Playoff success.
Contract complications
Davis can opt out of his contract at the end of the 2019/20 season and become a free agent. Every team across the league is aware of this, none more so than the Pelicans themselves. Since the ownership is not keen on paying luxury tax to build a contending team - and instead gave Solomon Hill an outrageous contract - it seems inevitable Davis will opt out, especially given his legacy over money comments recently.
As for the rest of the league, I think we all agree that no one wants another Kevin Garnett - Minnesota Timberwolves arc. The Pelicans are being pushed into a space that has been occupied by other small-market areas with lesser means of keeping their stars, such as the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016 or San Antonio Spurs last season.
Their cap space is negligible and even if they clear the books through Mirotic or Randle (unrestricted free agents in 2019 and 2020 respectively), their incentive to lure other stars to play alongside Davis appears futile right now. Davis is an increasingly common type of superstar who enters free agency in the prime of his career with an intent of leaving for pastures new.
Kevin Durant in 2016, Kyrie Irving and Paul George last year, Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James in 2018 - they all left their first teams that offseason in an effort to wrest control of their respective destinies.
We could see Davis do that in this offseason too, as he's making it increasingly easier to understand that he'd prefer a trade sooner rather than later. So would the Pelicans - Kawhi was traded a year before his contract expired and the Spurs got an All-Star in DeMar DeRozan for him in return. Durant famously left OKC for nothing two years ago to join the Golden State Warriors. At just 25, Davis is just entering his prime years.
Small fry issue
As previously mentioned, every team will be in the mix to sign Davis. The Lakers and Boston Celtics loom as frontrunners, but it's important to expect a host of small teams to get involved too.
The surprising Los Angeles Clippers could make a run for Davis themselves. Theoretically, they have the ability to clear space for two max stars this offseason while keeping together a host of good role players, headlined by Avery Bradley and Lou Williams to sweeten any prospective deals. If Davis is traded this offseason, the Pelicans will look to rob any team of whatever assets are made available.
Golden State Warriors will be in the fray too, as Steve Kerr has already revealed DeMarcus Cousins is a one-season signing. However, they'd only be in the sweepstakes if either Draymond Green, Klay Thompson or Durant (or possibly two of three) left in the offseason - it's unclear whether owner Joe Lacob would be willing to keep such a pricey roster together if everyone demands maximum contracts after a treble-winning dynasty as it looks as of now.
Durant, as multiple league sources say, most likely will leave after this season. Davis' hometown Chicago Bulls would make a move, as expected, and so would any other lottery team like the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns. Dangle a first-round pick (Zion, Barrett, Reddish or Little) headlined package for Davis, and suddenly New Orleans' future becomes that much brighter.
However, all the aforementioned teams are rebuilding and it's unclear whether they'd be willing to cripple themselves in a way like the Knicks did when they traded for Carmelo Anthony or the Brooklyn Nets for Garnett and Paul Pierce - giving away multiple draft picks in a young roster for an often injured superstar.
Los Angeles Lakers
Sure, the Lakers have LeBron. But since he publicly stated how it'd be great to play with Davis, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka must be under pressure to bring him to Los Angeles. Imagine a package headlined by not Brandon Ingram, but Kyle Kuzma. This is something the Lakers would hate to do, but it makes the most sense if you're the Pelicans' front office.
Kuzma is averaging 16.9 ppg this season and has the ability to hang even more points when thrust into a larger role. With LeBron (groin) sidelined against the Kings, Kuzma dropped 33/9/4 on Friday night.
Even if the Lakers are unwilling to trade Kuzma, they have multiple other young players to trade. Lonzo Ball is untouchable, basically because the Lakers have no true point guard besides him (Rajon Rondo is injured for at least a month). Josh Hart can command the same rule as a starting shooting guard, but this is Anthony Davis. The Lakers could trade Tyson Chandler, Josh Hart and Ingram and it'd still be a good deal for most fans.
Oh, Lakers fans: Davis is represented by Klutch Sports, who also represent LeBron. Speculate.
Boston Celtics
Short of throwing LeBron in the mix, there's nothing the Lakers could do if Boston decided to throw Jayson Tatum in the trade. Tatum has performed at a superhuman level given his age - 20 years - and will continue improving no matter what happens.
The Danny Ainge-managed Celtics have robbed most teams of multiple draft picks and could have up to four first-round picks in the upcoming draft should the surging Sacramento Kings suddenly come back to earn. The Kings are in the playoff mix, but they're also only 3.5 games from bottoming out in the West. That's how close the Western Conference is right now.
And if New Orleans isn't interested in draft picks - probable considering how their already low fan attendance would take a massive hit - Boston could always throw in extra pieces. Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and even Aron Baynes would make any deal sweet enough for the Pelicans to bite, with the added advantage to dealing Davis out of their conference.
Davis is good friends with Irving as well, which is too something to ruminate over. In fact, Kyrie was said to be actively interested in recruiting Davis to the Celtics. No matter what Davis decides, 2019 is his year.
Guess the Lakers players!
