https://www.si.com/nba/2019/06/12/r...up-lakers-pelicans-lebron-james-anthony-davis Coming just 10 days before the trade deadline, with prime Davis suitor Boston sidelined by complex contract rules until summer, the maneuver walked and quacked like a demand to send Davis to the rudderless Lakers and, more to the point, James’s desperately welcoming embrace. It was also seen as one of the most naked power moves in recent memory. “We cannot,” Charles Barkley said on TNT, “have players and agents colluding to stack super teams.” Paul’s Who? Me? protestations aren’t very convincing and, in truth, he doesn’t try that hard. He claims no control over L.A.’s personnel decisions and takes umbrage at the suggestion that he’d send Davis—still, for the moment, a Pelican—into a less than ideal situation to help the man who changed his life and made him rich. “Did you say that to David Falk? Would you say that to Arn Tellem?” Paul says of two agents who juggled vast stables of clients without charges of conflict of interest. “You’re only saying that because you feel like, ‘Well, Rich wouldn’t be in this position without LeBron,’ right? My thing is: Take LeBron off the Lakers. Are the Lakers not a great destination for an arguably top-two player that went to Kentucky and won a national championship, signed with Nike? For a team that’s had centers from George Mikan to Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaq? “So now, when you add LeBron, that’s what? The cherry on top. LeBron’s 34 years old. Anthony Davis is 26. So when LeBron’s done playing, the Anthony Davis trade is still rolling. What better place to do it than L.A.? If it was L.A.—I never said ‘L.A.’ But there’s no negative to that. Who gives a s--- what you’re talking about, about me trying to help LeBron out? No, I’m not. I’m trying to help Anthony Davis. Now, if helping Anthony Davis helps LeBron in the long run? So be it. But my goal is Anthony Davis.” He veers off to speak of the Knicks as an equally alluring destination for AD. “The only difference is, they don’t have as many championships as the Lakers,” Paul says. “They got a tradition. It’s a big market—not that it’s only big markets. They have cap space, flexibility, they’re able to absorb more than one star. What’s wrong with that?” [...] Boston? Davis’s father told ESPN in February that he wouldn’t want his son playing for the Celtics, and Paul confirms that he has warned off Boston management. “They can trade for him, but it’ll be for one year,” Paul says. “I mean: If the Celtics traded for Anthony Davis, we would go there and we would abide by our contractual [obligations] and we would go into free agency in 2020. I’ve stated that to them. But in the event that he decides to walk away and you give away assets? Don’t blame Rich Paul.” Posturing? Maybe. But get ready for another year of it, because Paul says Davis won’t be signing an extension anywhere this summer. “Where he’s going to land? I have no idea,” Paul says. “And it don’t matter. We’re going into free agency. Why does it matter to me where he goes? Earth: We’re going into free agency. He has a year, he has to play. But after that, I can’t say it no bigger: WE ARE GOING INTO FREE AGENCY. 2020: ANTHONY DAVIS WILL BE IN FREE AGENCY.” [...] The NBA joined in the tsk-tsking by docking Davis $50,000 for breaking its rule against public trade demands. Fallout spread leaguewide: On Feb. 5, Lakers forward Brandon Ingram hit two free throws as an Indiana crowd chanted, “LeBron’s gonna trade you!” Paul admits the situation got out of hand. (“Would I have wanted things to be handled a bit better? Absolutely.”) But he goes on to dump all blame on then Pels GM, Dell Demps. Because Paul insists his plan wasn’t to go public. He says that he first informed Demps on Jan. 25 of Davis’s intentions, and Demps responded that he’d confer with Benson and get back to him. (Demps did not respond to multiple requests for comment.) Instead, Paul says, Demps called Davis himself—and never got back to Paul. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had contacted him, Paul says, to confirm Davis’s demands. “It was necessary to go public,” Paul says. “When I told you, ‘Here’s our intentions,’ and you say, ‘Hey, let me talk to ownership,’ and instead of you talking to ownership you call Anthony Davis? That’s called being ignored.” And trying to get between a player and his agent? “That’s a no-no,” Paul says. “Every GM knows that.” So, in essence, Demps violated negotiation etiquette and Paul responded with the nuclear option. You can argue whether that served his client, but the episode may be the most telling measure of player power today. Because when you look at who actually suffered as a result of the trade demand—beyond a fleeting reputational dent—Davis and Paul and James barely make the list. [...] But the idea of Paul—and, by extension, James—meddling in team decisions gained further credence last month when an ESPN report on the Lakers detailed Paul voicing dissatisfaction, in November, with Walton to commissioner Adam Silver. In May, Paul also approached at least one NBA coach to gauge interest in an assistant role on Vogel’s staff, a source familiar with the conversation told SI. Last week, Paul declined comment to SI on the Silver exchange and denied broaching a role on Vogel’s staff to anyone. “No,” Paul says. “Plenty of coaches, plenty of people have reached out to me to get guys to be an assistant. But I haven’t approached nobody about being an assistant. It’s not my place.” The Lakers spokesperson said, “We have no knowledge” of Paul reaching out to coaching candidates and “no reason to believe it’s true.”
If LeBron wanted a title, he should not have gone to LA. Really hope AD is not traded to the Lakers. I’m tired of all of this.
Man, this Rich Paul strong-arm to get AD to LAL. I really hope some team can trade for AD to keep him out of LA (at least for another year).
in the wake of KD's archilles injury. Kyrie's best destination would be LAL, re-uniting w LeBron. to the extent that LAL don't have to give up assets for FA Kyrie, this would be a much better deal (vs. trading for AD) for them
The Celtics can still be the AD leader as long as Tatum is on the table. He is the best player asset that could be available. Better than anything NYK or LAL have. That said, we don't know if the Celtics are willing to give him up. It would be a huge risk. A risk where they trade Tatum, and AD walks after a year and you have lost Kyrie, Tatum and AD. Is Ainge willing to risk it?
If they get a third star I still won't be scared. They have no depth, LeBron is no longer the elite player he once was, and AD is overrated/injury prone.
Five trades BSPN would like to see Spoiler Five big Anthony Davis trades we'd like to see The New Orleans Pelicans are looking for All-Stars, young players with star potential and multiple first-round draft picks in an Anthony Davis trade, according to a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Which teams can swing the best trades, and what would those deals look like? Potential Davis trades could be complicated by the fact that Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin isn't convinced that one team can deliver everything on his check box, so a multiteam trade might be necessary. What should the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and other top trade contenders offer? And which franchises should get involved in a three-team deal? Our NBA experts give five trades that work, including eight teams and multiple draft picks. New York Knicks Pelicans get: Matthew Dellavedova, Billy Garrett, Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr., Cedi Osman, 2019 No. 3 pick, 2021 Dallas first-round pick, 2022 Milwaukee first-round pick (top-10 protected 2022 and 2023, top-8 protected in 2024, otherwise 2024 and 2025 second-round picks) Knicks get: Anthony Davis Cavaliers get: Kevin Knox Kevin Pelton: This turns into a three-team trade because the Pelicans may not value Knox as highly as other teams. So after getting Knox, Ntilikina and Smith from the Knicks along with this year's No. 3 pick and the 2021 unprotected Mavericks pick, Griffin also flips Knox to his former team. In exchange for sending out Knox and taking back Dellavedova's salary -- helping the Cavaliers avoid the luxury tax -- New Orleans gets Osman, a Griffin draft pick in the last year of a cheap contract at $2.9 million, and takes an interesting gamble on the Milwaukee pick that won't convey until after Giannis Antetokounmpo hits unrestricted free agency. The net result for the Pelicans is they add young talent at point guard and small forward, this year's No. 3 pick and have two extra first-round picks coming down the road. That's a steep price for New York to pay, but the Knicks get to hold on to center Mitchell Robinson and could complete this deal as structured 30 days after signing the No. 3 pick to use his salary for matching purposes. That would allow the Knicks to sign a pair of max free agents before adding Davis, creating a top-heavy superteam. Cleveland adds a second top-10 pick from last year's draft, although both were sub-replacement performers as rookies, and hopes that if Antetokounmpo re-signs in Milwaukee, the Bucks' first-round pick will end up in the late 20s. In that case, the Cavaliers could be getting Knox at a heavy discount relative to where he was drafted. Los Angeles Lakers Lakers get: Anthony Davis Pelicans get: Brandon Ingram, 2019 No. 4 pick, 2019 No. 6 pick Suns get: Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart Bobby Marks: While this deal falls short of Griffin's checklist, it does provide strong value with two top-6 picks (on top of the No. 1 pick New Orleans already owns) and a player in Ingram who at times displayed All-Star potential before undergoing thoracic outlet decompression surgery in March. The trade also would leave New Orleans with $24 million to use in free agency. For the Lakers, the question comes down to timing. Because the incoming and outgoing salaries do not match the $27.1 million Davis contract, this trade would be finalized after July 6 when the moratorium is lifted and the 2019-20 salary-cap calendar goes into effect. For the Lakers to maximize cap space, their $32.5 million in available room would have to be used first on one or multiple free agents, and then the trade with the Pelicans would be completed 30 days after the No. 4 pick in the draft sign his contract. Reversing the order costs the Lakers losing $4.8 million in cap flexibility. After debating about which direction to go at No. 6, Phoenix enters the picture in this deal. Despite Ball having two fewer years on his contract compared to a first-rounder in June, the former No. 2 overall pick gives the Suns their starting point guard of the future. Phoenix also would add much-needed depth off the bench with the addition of Hart. The Suns' front office would need to weigh the long-term impact of Ball compared to players such as Coby White, Cam Reddish, Jarrett Culver, De'Andre Hunter and Darius Garland -- five players who will be in Phoenix's draft range. LA Clippers Clippers get: Anthony Davis Suns get: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Pelicans get: Danilo Gallinari, Josh Jackson, Jerome Robinson, 2019 No. 6 pick, 2020 LA first-round pick*, 2021 Miami first-round pick *LA would have to wait until after the 2019 draft to trade this pick. Andrew Han: Anthony Davis finally gets to LA -- and for one of the teams that was on his original list of four franchises. New Orleans gets a second chance to utilize forward-thinking trade assets eight years after sending Chris Paul to the Clippers for picks and young players. And though the best thing to come of that exchange was its ability to be bad enough to draft AD, Griffin & Co. should be savvy enough to build around the soon-to-be Pelican Zion Williamson with a second high lottery pick and two additional picks in subsequent years. For the Suns, a reliable playmaking lead guard has been coveted for years to pair with Devin Booker. And while some might think trading the No. 6 pick for last season's No. 11 pick would be a net loss, Gilgeous-Alexander proved himself to be not just one of the best point guard prospects, but one of the best prospects in a deep 2018 draft class. For Lawrence Frank, Michael Winger and the Clips, this is a cut-and-dried affair. If there is reasonable evidence that Davis will re-sign with the Clippers, the opportunity to pair a perennial MVP candidate with a max salary slot is the reason why prescient front offices collect assets. Add to that the deepest bench in the league and Los Angeles would immediately sport at least one title contender. Denver Nuggets Nuggets get: Anthony Davis Pelicans get: Gary Harris, Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Michael Porter Jr., 2021 Denver first-round pick, 2022 Denver second-round pick, 2023 Denver second-round pick Kevin Arnovitz: Last summer, the Toronto Raptors affirmed that very good teams, sometimes, must gamble if they want to break their ceiling. Toronto had every reason to believe that Kawhi Leonard's long-term interest in remaining a Raptor was nil, yet the Raptors shipped out their franchise player and bet on the strength of their organization. Leonard might still depart, but nobody can take away what the Raptors achieved in 2019. Like the Raptors, the Nuggets are a very good team that, with the addition of a superstar, would become a title favorite in 2020. Like Toronto in the imagination of Leonard, Denver isn't a destination for which Davis has any preference. Yet winning is a powerful potion -- particularly for a player like Davis who has exactly one career win after April. Win the West with Davis, and dare him to dive into the Lakers vortex to play alongside 35-year-old LeBron James. The Pelicans would receive two-way shooting guard Gary Harris, who turns 25 in September, on a very fair contract, along with two inexpensive guards with some upside in Beasley and Morris. The Pelicans can afford to be patient with Porter, who continues to recover from a debilitating back injury, but whose raw talent remains tantalizing. Denver's picks don't figure to be lottery selections, but with the best defensive backcourt in basketball, Williamson an emerging star, and cap space galore once Solomon Hill and E'Twaun Moore come off the books next summer, the calculus has changed: The Pelicans are rebuilding on the fly at high speed. Portland Trail Blazers Blazers get: Anthony Davis, E'Twaun Moore, Jahlil Okafor Pelicans get: CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, 2019 No. 25 pick, 2021 Portland first-round pick Andre Snellings: In this deal, the Blazers become the next team to push in all their chips for a guaranteed season with a superstar. The Davis-Damian Lillard combo would make them contenders immediately, with both stars at the peak of their powers and starving for a title. Plus, like the Raptors, Portland has an outstanding fan base that would welcome Davis with open arms. And if Davis doesn't decide to stay, the Trail Blazers have a lot of expiring deals and would then have the opportunity to almost start fresh around Lillard, who reportedly is interested in signing an upcoming supermax extension. On the Pelicans' side, McCollum is an All Star-caliber player who has averaged 24.4 PPG during his last three playoff appearances in a secondary role. McCollum is entering his peak at only 27 years old, he's an excellent scorer who would be an outstanding fit next to Williamson and would also form a very intriguing backcourt with Jrue Holiday. Nurkic is only 24. He averaged 15 points and almost 10 rebounds in his two-plus seasons in Portland, and he was rounding into one of the better young big men in the NBA before his leg injury. Both are foundation-level players, and the two draft picks help round out the deal.
