Anthony Davis took the NBA world by storm this week when he and agent Rich Paul made it clear to the New Orleans Pelicans they were looking for a trade and didn’t have any intentions on signing a five-year, $240 million supermax contract extension this summer.
Davis and his representatives have also informed teams of a preference to join the Los Angeles Lakers. If he is traded anywhere else, Davis would treat it as a one-year stopgap before signing with the Lakers in 2020 free agency.
One significant roadblock to that is the Pelicans reportedly have no desire to appease Davis and give him what he wants by trading him to the Lakers, with general manager Dell Demps even going as far as not answering any phones calls from Los Angeles.