The Anthony Davis trade saga will stretch onto the summer, as the New Orleans Pelicans weren’t willing to trade him before the Feb 7 deadline, despite an attractive offer from the Lakers.
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The Lakers had offered their entire young core to the Pelicans, but the Pelicans wanted to punish the Lakers for their tampering efforts early on in the season.
LeBron James’ dream of getting a second superstar to LA was shattered and Anthony Davis was left in an uncomfortable position in New Orleans.
With a trade request already submitted, the Pelicans have now made protecting Anthony Davis from injury their priority, as an injured AD will have lesser value in the trade market.
Anthony Davis has been given restricted minutes from the Pelicans management and has been vilified by the New Orleans fans for submitting a trade request just days before the trade deadline.
Magic Johnson did speak after the entire fiasco had settled, confirming that the New Orleans Pelicans did not act in good faith during the negotiations.
LeBron James did not pass a direct comment on AD, but said that that there was nothing in the league that he wished for or did not have.
Now, in the new episode of The Shop by HBO, LeBron James has broken his silence about Anthony Davis’ situation in New Orleans and how he has been made the villain.
LeBron has criticised the media and the NBA fraternity in general for changing the narrative with regards to Anthony Davis.
The media and the fans have loved him for 7 years but have now turned against him for wanting to move away from New Orleans.
“AD’s in the league for 7 years……Nobody has said anything negative about AD. You can tell the narrative changes when you don’t do what they want you to do.” James said.
LeBron wanted to point out the fickle nature of the NBA community with this statement, which is true to some extent, but then that is the case with most communities in the world.
Of course the Pelicans would be upset by how the entire thing panned out. Now, while it is not all Anthony Davis’ fault, people’s anger and frustration will be directed(and misdirected) to someone in the system and AD is the easiest target.
The saga will be continued in the summer, with more teams joining in this time and should provide for some entertainment.
However, Anthony Davis could once again be targeted and LeBron wants to make sure that does not happen in the future Or maybe Lakers have a deal in place for AD, and LeBron is just looking out for a future teammate.
Do you think Anthony Davis will end up in LA?
