Ever since New Orleans Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis made his desire to be traded public, the Los Angeles Lakers have been very active in pursuing the highly-coveted center. Now it seems, with the trade deadline a week away, Pelicans’ general manager Dell Demps isn’t all that interested in dealing with the Lakers.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Demps has been in ‘no rush’ to engage in talks with Lakers president Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka.
Pelicans general manager Dell Demps has been in no rush to fully engage with Lakers president Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka, but Los Angeles is determined to be aggressive in its offers for Davis prior to next Thursday’s trade deadline, league sources told ESPN, and it’s Demps’ obligation to listen.
It has been reported that on Wednesday, Magic and the Lakers presented New Orleans with five different trade options and are now waiting for Demps’ response, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Lakers president Magic Johnson and the Lakers then presented five different trade scenarios to Demps on Wednesday and are waiting to hear back from Demps about which interest him the most, per sources.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) January 31, 2019
Some of the trade scenarios the Lakers presented to the Pelicans included Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Ivica Zubac, Brandon Ingram and a No. 1 pick.
Sources: Lakers let Demps know one of trade scenarios would include Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac, No. 1 pick, per source.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) January 31, 2019
Woj claims that there could be several reasons why Demps hasn’t been eagerly responsive to Los Angeles’ calls. One reason is that the Pelicans feel the Lakers are responsible for Davis wanting a trade to occur in the first place.
The sluggish response time by Demps is perhaps a message that New Orleans places some responsibility on the Lakers for Davis’ trade request. Or perhaps it is an indication to Davis and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, that the Pelicans don’t plan to easily acquiesce on a trade request to partner Davis withLeBron James.
The Pelicans organization doesn’t feel the need to send Davis out on the Lakers’ terms. They’re willing to wait until the right trade option comes to them.
As of now, the Pelicans see no reason to deliver Davis to the Lakers in a deal with a full season left on his contract — never mind do it on a timeline that benefits mostly the objectives of Los Angeles and Davis.
