NBA Rumors: Analyzing Buzz Surrounding Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and More
Last week's NBA trade deadline came and went without the biggest potential prize: New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis landing in a new home. It didn't come as a major surprise because the Los Angeles Lakers appeared to be the only team fielding serious offers.
Naturally, the Pelicans would prefer to have the Lakers bidding against another team, which is what may happen in the offseason.
The Boston Celtics are expected to be one of the teams bidding on Davis, even though Davis has said that he won't sign a long-term deal if he is acquired by Boston.
Davis is only locked into his contract through the 2019-20 season. The Celtics couldn't make an official offer until the offseason because of their acquisition of Kyrie Irving last offseason. Teams cannot acquire two players who signed extensions under the Rose Rule.
Of course, New Orleans doesn't really care if Davis signs a long-term deal or not. General manager Dell Demps only cares that he gets the most in return for him. If Davis is dealt to the Celtics, that value could include budding star Jayson Tatum.
"The Celtics made no promises, according to a league source, but the impression was left with the Pelicans that Boston would fork [Tatum] over in a Davis deal," Sean Deveney of Sporting News recently wrote.
Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe backed up the notion that no promise was made by the Celtics regarding a potential deal:
"League sources said the Pelicans reached out to the Celtics this week seeking specific promises about trade packages, but the Celtics were reluctant to make any, considering their window is months away. Still, the Celtics made it clear that their cupboard would be opened up when the time comes"
While there was no concrete promise made by Boston, it does feel like the Pelicans had always intended to wait until the Celtics could join the bidding. This didn't sit well with Lakers president Magic Johnson.
"No," Johnson said when asked if he believed the Pelicans acted in good faith during trade talks with the Lakers, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.
Johnson also said that missing out on Davis won't affect Los Angeles' plans for the upcoming free agency period.
"That's not going to change our plans this summer," Johnson said, per McMenamin. "It's a great class, and we just want to get one of them."
Pending free agents include DeAndre Jordan, Klay Thompson, Trevor Ariza, Kemba Walker and Ricky Rubio. Interestingly, Irving can also enter free agency if he opts out of his player option.
This is where things could potentially backfire for the Pelicans or for the Celtics. If Irving opts out and then chooses not to re-sign with Boston, the Celtics may not be so willing to move Tatum.
The goal isn't to acquire Davis so that he can be the only premier player on the team. Boston will get a taste of what the team is like without Irving. He's day-to-day with a knee injury.
Now, Celtics owner Danny Ainge does believe that Irving will be back next season.
"I think that it's more like an engagement," Ainge told Boston 98.5's Toucher and Rich. "And we're going to get married on July 1st. I think that engagement is still on, as far as I know."
However, Irving is going to have suitors in free agency. The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets appear to be in the mix, and it would be unwise to rule out a reunion with LeBron James in Los Angeles.
"The Knicks and the Nets, both New York teams, have believed quietly for a long time that they’re going to have a shot at Kyrie Irving in free agency," ESPN's Marc Stein said on Stephen A. Smith's podcast.
Another star who has been linked to the Knicks is Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant.
"Kevin Durant is going to the Knicks," one Eastern Conference executive told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today early in the season.
The former Oklahoma City Thunder star may want to be the leader of his own team if he wins another championship with Golden State this year. He too can opt out of a player option in the offseason.
Whether he actually has New York in mind or not, Durant has been determined to keep his distance.
"I have nothing to do with the Knicks," Durant said last week, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater. "I don’t know who traded [Kristaps] Porzingis. It got nothing to do with me."
Interestingly, it seems like the Knicks may have tried to have a little too much to do with Durant recently. New York used a photo of Durant in a pitch to get season-ticket holders to renew. The image was later removed.
"Game action photos are used all the time for marketing purposes, but given everything going on, we took the precaution of taking the photo down," the Knicks said in a statement. "To be clear, it was one of several rotating photos on the website."
Showing an image of Durant in an advertisement isn't really tampering—teams generally show their own players playing against someone—but it's hard to believe it was purely accidental.
The Knicks cannot possibly know that they'll get Durant or Irving or anyone else in free agency, but they probably like their fans to believe a big move is coming.
*All contract information via Spotrac
