Should Pelicans’ David Griffin trade Anthony Davis to the Boston Celtics?
By Nolan Jensen
David Griffin, the newly anointed Vice President of Basketball Operations for the New Orleans Pelicans, has his work cut out for him. His first task: finding the best possible package for Anthony Davis.
Well, we now know the man who’s going to orchestrate Anthony Davis’ official departure from the New Orleans Pelicans. But the question is, who is David Griffin going to deal with to get the trade done? There are multiple suitors looking to acquire the disgruntled superstar, but who represents the best possible offer for Davis’ services?
Celtics’ stockpiled assets
In this instance, let’s revisit the Boston Celtics scenario. When the Celtics turned away from their aging stars—who brought them back to glory for the first time since the Larry Bird era— they received a package that would set them up for the future. They had turned veterans well past their primes into a multitude of future first-round draft picks. Now, with some of the assets they acquired from Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Memphis—they’re looking to construct a super team to get back to the NBA Finals.
Yet thus far, they have seemingly been overwhelmed in their conquest of a championship. Despite those lop-sided trades in their favor, they have been disappointing, failing to put together a meaningful playoff run yet. However, Celtics GM Danny Ainge will not go down quietly. And now that we have bypassed a silly NBA rule that disallowed a trade offer during the regular season, Ainge appears all in on a trade for Davis.
Danny Ainge has encouraged the Pelicans to wait until the offseason to negotiate with the Celtics. Boston remains determined to try and partner Anthony Davis with Kyrie Irving for long-term, but plans to pursue AD regardless of Irving's free agency plans, per sources. https://t.co/Ft8rfe9EBZ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2019
So what could the Celtics actually be willing to send the Pelicans?